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The Cable Guy

January 18, 2018

The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason has had a storied career: it has located hydrothermal vent fields, captured footage of the deepest explosive erupting volcano, and rescued seismic equipment encased in lava. In another first for the vehicle, it was used to lay two kilometers (more than a mile) of seafloor cable, orange spool beneath the vehicle, in June 2016 from a central node to a remote instrument platform at the Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) observatory. The work was enabled by a major overhaul the previous year, which increased Jason‘s tool skid lift capacity from 400 pounds to two tons, and increased the break strength of its umbilical to 70,000 pounds. (Photo courtesy of Ocean Networks Canada)