SX Next Takapuna

In 2021 Seaworks played a critical role in the creation of what was to be one of the world’s largest submarine telecommunications cable networks: Southern Cross NEXT.

Today the 15,840-kilometre-long cable network is fully installed and operating, with New Zealand connected directly to Sydney and Los Angeles and linking to Fiji, Tokelau and Kiribati. But back then it was a highly awaited game-changer, promising a 100% boost in New Zealand’s domestic and international data capacity.

The new cable system would also resolve a serious issue: New Zealand’s access to data services at the time relied entirely on a single underwater cable containing six optical fibres, each the thickness of a human hair. Any damage would have had drastic implications for the country’s economic and social wellbeing.

Out in the community

In a span of about eight days in 2021, Seaworks installed the shore end of one of the Southern Cross NEXT cables,  located at one of the country’s most popular seaside locations – Takapuna Beach in Auckland.

Knowing that around 2,000 people and hundreds of dogs would be wandering up and down the landing site every day, the team had to develop a management and safety strategy that provided for public access on the one hand and demarcation zones for equipment and heavy machinery on the other. The result was a limited operating area and a requirement for meticulously managed operations, not to mention patience and diplomacy.

Fortunately the job was straightforward for the team, who had had decades of experience in cable landings. Their task was to:

• Undertake a preliminary dive survey of the cable area
• Establish and prepare the beach landing side
• Receive the 9.8 kilometre cable (with buoys attached every 4 metres) from Seaworks’ DP1 Seaworker
• Remove all the buoys above the waterline
• Bury the earth plate and main transmission cables in a pre-dug trench
• Conduct a post-lay dive survey to ensure the cable had landed correctly and safely
• Clean up and reinstate the beach

Later, an international cable-laying vessel would recover the seaward cable end and connect it to the main cable at sea.

The team enjoyed being part of a project that has contributed so much to New Zealanders’ daily lives and enabled secure data connections to the world. They also loved the working environment, and made a lot of canine friends!

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