SUBCO eyes cable laying ship and survey drone

Some of SUBCO's planned routes (Image credit: SUBCO).

SUBCO is contemplating the purchase of an uncrewed survey drone and a submarine cable laying vessel.

Founder and co-CEO Bevan Slattery told the AusNOG conference in Brisbane last month that Australia needed to augment its survey capabilities, and also to have its own vessel that can lay and repair submarine cables.

He noted that such investments in sovereign capability were similarly being made by Europe.

Australia is home to an oceanic survey vessel in the form of the research vessel Investigator operated by CSIRO.

“[It’s] a magnificent survey vessel. It is also booked up for the next two-to-three years looking at everything from … defence [to] the environment,” Slattery said.

Slattery indicated that SUBCO is looking at having its own survey capability in the form of an uncrewed surface vessel (USV).

“What we're looking at doing is actually buying our own drone - a USV,” he said, indicating that a target delivery timeframe of December 2027 is being considered.

“We'll get someone else to operate and maintain it, but the important part is if we need it … it's our vessel on lease or we own."

In accompanying slides, SUBCO indicated the drone could be used for cable route surveys, as well as marine biology and ecological experiments.

A more serious investment would be a submarine cable laying vessel, something that Australia does not presently have, which could cost around US$165 million ($236 million) including “toys” like remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and ploughs used to trench and bury cables.

Slattery said it would be preferable to have a new vessel built as it would be more reliable and efficient with its fuel consumption.

“I really want it to be operated by a trusted partner,” he said, adding, “Anyone who has a boat knows that the bigger boat, the bigger pain it is to manage.”

Slattery indicated that SUBCO wouldn’t seek to go it alone on the vessel costs, and would want government investment, given the role that such a vessel could play in improving the resilience of subsea cables.

“I'm really expecting I'm going to need [the] US [and] Australian governments to actually put their hands in their pockets and make a contribution towards it,” he said.

"I need to make a decision on whether or not I buy a cable vessel. I said I'll do it by the end of the year."

If a decision is made on that timeline, it could be built and delivered by the end of 2029.

Slattery said that having a vessel in Australia could provide certainty of the availability of laying and repair services beyond 2030 as well.

Presently, cable operators contribute to a regional arrangement for cable repairs, known as the South Pacific Marine Maintenance Agreement.

However, the mix of operators covered by that agreement is set to shrink post-2030. 

As older cables are retired, they are being superseded by new cables built and run by fewer operators, which could present a risk to the continuity of the current regional repair arrangement.

SUBCO is building multiple international routes under its 'APX' name.