Fiber optic cable laying system in the world's deepest abyss

Haiwei GD11000 fiber optic cable winch system can deploy cables at a maximum depth of more than 11,000m.

China has built the world's first machine capable of laying undersea cables in the Challenger Deep , the deepest known place on Earth. Located at the southern end of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, the Challenger Deep has a maximum depth of nearly 11,000 meters below sea level. However, this depth is still within the operating range of China's new ultra-deep-sea fiber-optic cable winch system , the Haiwei GD11000 , MSN reported on November 25.

Optical fiber winch system developed by Dalian Maritime University. (Photo: Dalian Maritime University)

Co-developed by Dalian Maritime University in Liaoning Province and several domestic science and technology machinery companies, the Haiwei GD11000 can deploy cables to a maximum depth of over 11,000 meters . Li Wenhua, a professor at the university's marine engineering school and scientific director of the project, said the Haiwei GD11000 can conduct scientific research at the maximum depth of any ocean in the world. The previous record for the world's deepest undersea cable was held by Italian cable manufacturer and installation service provider Prysmian. In July, the company announced that it had completed the installation of an undersea cable at a depth of 2,150 meters.

Described as the world's only ultra-deep-sea fiber optic cable towing system, the Haiwei GD11000 was developed entirely independently and has fully demonstrated its deep-sea research capabilities after recently completing its first survey in the South China Sea. During the October trip, the system performed two towing operations at a depth of more than 4,000m with a maximum cable deployment length of 11,228.7m.

The Haiwei GD11000 also demonstrated the ability to use a cable-controlled underwater robot to observe the seabed, place markers, and collect samples. This fiber-optic winch system is designed to deploy, retrieve, and tow large equipment that plays a key role in deep-sea resource exploration and development.

Li said the Haiwei GD11000 has a safe operating load of more than 15 tons and a speed of up to 120 meters per minute. It is also ultra-thin, with a cable diameter of less than 34 mm, but the power transmission cable can reach more than 51 kilowatts. In the future, the machine will be used for polar and deep-sea survey operations on research vessels.