Repairs to Caribbean Utilities Company’s Rum Point submarine cable began last week.
Once it is back in service, the high-voltage Rum Point submarine cable will complete CUC’s eastern loop
The competed loop will allow electricity to flow from either direction in the event of a power outage in the eastern districts, thus minimising the lengths and scope of any outages.
The company ABB-Sweden has come to the Cayman Islands to carry out the repairs, which will cost approximately US $1 million.
The Rum Point submarine cable was installed in 2001 along with one to West Bay that completes the western loop. The original cost to install the combined 14 miles of cable was approximately $10 million.
CUC’s Manager of Engineering Services, Sacha Tibbetts, said the cable was damaged during Hurricane Ivan when a 43-foot boat sunk on top of it.
‘We heard it was the only boat left in the North Sound and it ended up right on top of the cable,’ he said.
The damage occurred about 1,500 feet off shore in the North Sound, just northeast of the North Sound Barcadere.
The six-inch diameter cable contains the necessary wires for three-phase electricity and a fibre optic cable as well.
‘The cable weighs about 30 pounds per foot,’ said Mr. Tibbetts.
The cable was damaged in two places. Although only 10 to 12 feet of cable was immediately affected by the boat sinking, about 100 feet of cable had to be removed for replacement because of seawater infiltration, Mr. Tibbetts said.
Repairs to the cable are estimated to take two weeks, and the cable should be back in service in the first half of July.
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