The Haiwei GD11000 deep-sea fiber optic cable laying system can deploy cables at depths of over 11,000 meters.
China has developed the world’s first machine capable of laying underwater cables in the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point on Earth. Located at the southern end of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, Challenger Deep reaches a maximum depth of nearly 11,000 meters below sea level. However, this depth is still within the operational range of China’s new Haiwei GD11000 ultra-deep fiber optic cable laying system, as reported by MSN on November 25.
The fiber optic cable laying system developed by Dalian Maritime University. (Photo: Dalian Maritime University)
Co-developed by Dalian Maritime University in Liaoning Province along with several domestic machinery and technology companies, the Haiwei GD11000 can deploy cables to depths exceeding 11,000 meters. Li Wenhua, a professor at the university’s maritime engineering school and the project’s scientific director, stated that the Haiwei GD11000 is capable of conducting scientific research underwater at the greatest depths of all the world’s oceans. The previous record for the deepest underwater cable belonged to the Italian manufacturer and installer Prysmian, which announced in July that it had completed the installation of a cable at a depth of 2,150 meters.
Described as the only ultra-deep fiber optic cable laying system in the world, the Haiwei GD11000 was developed entirely independently and has fully demonstrated its capability for ocean research at great depths after completing its first survey mission in the South China Sea. During a trip in October, the system successfully performed two cable laying operations at depths exceeding 4,000 meters, with a maximum cable deployment length of 11,228.7 meters.
The Haiwei GD11000 also showcases the ability to use remotely operated underwater robots to observe the seabed, place markers, and collect samples. This fiber optic cable laying system is designed to deploy, recover, and pull large equipment that plays a crucial role in exploring and developing deep-sea resources.
Li noted that the Haiwei GD11000 has a safe operational load of over 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, while the power transmission capability can exceed 51 kilowatts. In the future, this machine will be used for survey operations in polar regions and deep-sea explorations on research vessels.
