Fiber optic submarine cables now constitute strategic infrastructure for the global internet, transporting 99% of all traffic. An incident affecting these critical information highways causes significant disruptions across various sectors. Ensuring their optimal functionality is thus not merely an economic concern, but a strategic necessity.

French telecoms group Orange is expanding its subsea repair operations with the construction of two new cable-laying vessels that will maintain submarine infrastructure across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, its subsidiary Orange Marine said on Monday.

Orange Marine and Elettra Tlc president Didier Dillard described the investment as strategic, saying the industry’s aging fleet has become a key concern.

“Building these new ships will enable Orange Marine and Elettra to have the most modern fleet in the world, serving all our clients globally, with an optimized environmental footprint,” Dillard said.

In Africa, the ships are expected to accelerate cable repairs and improve the reliability of coastal internet connections, which are often disrupted by storms, fishing activity, or outdated equipment. Almost all of the continent’s internet traffic runs through deep-sea fiber-optic cables that, when damaged, can slow or paralyze entire countries.

That vulnerability was exposed in March 2024, when multiple cables off Abidjan, including WACS, ACE, MainOne, and SAT-3, were damaged, causing widespread outages across West and Central Africa. Service restoration took several weeks for some systems.

Orange said the new ships, combined with a broader and better-distributed maintenance network, will cut repair times and limit revenue losses in its data business.

The vessels, modern versions of the Sophie Germain launched in 2023, have been ordered from Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard and are scheduled to enter service in 2028 and 2029. They will be capable of maintaining existing systems and installing new cables at depths of up to 1,000 meters.

They will replace the Léon Thévenin, launched in 1983 and based in South Africa, and the Antonio Meucci, launched in 1987 and based in Italy. Those two ships currently handle cable maintenance in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Black Sea, and Red Sea.

Each new vessel will feature hybrid diesel-battery propulsion, a streamlined hull that reduces fuel use by 25%, and Azipod thrusters for greater maneuverability. The design is expected to cut CO2 emissions by 20% compared with the current fleet. Shore-power connections will further reduce emissions while docked, and each ship will carry a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) designed by Orange Marine for rapid cable cutting, inspection, and burial.

Applied to African coasts, these improvements should reduce internet downtime affecting banks, governments, payment platforms, and e-health services.

Through Orange Marine and Elettra Tlc, the group currently operates two cable-laying vessels and one hydrographic survey ship.

“As a leader in global digital infrastructure, Orange manages over 450,000 km of undersea cables connecting all continents,” said Michaël Trabbia, CEO of Orange Wholesale. “This strategic investment in our fleet of cable ships will be a key to ensuring the resilience and security of the global Internet.” Orange’s message is clear: resilience is now a requirement, not a luxury.

Muriel EDJO