Editing Cable layer (section)

== Equipment ==
[[File:Durable Shipped at Keelung Port Front View 20150316.jpg|thumb|right|CS ''Durable'' was operated by TE Subcom, docked at Keelung port in 2015. This reliance-class ship without bow sheaves.]]
To ensure that cable is laid and retrieved properly, specially designed equipment must be used.  Different equipment is used on cable-laying ships depending on what their job requires. In order to retrieve damaged or mislaid cable, a grapple system is used to gather cable from the ocean floor. There are several types of grapples, each with certain advantages or disadvantages. These grapples are attached to the vessel via a grapple rope, originally a mix of steel and manila lines, but now made from synthetic materials.  This ensures that the line is strong, yet can flex and strain under the weight of the grapple. The line is pulled up by reversing the Linear Cable Engine used to lay the cable.<ref name="Thomas N. Sanderlin 1979">Thomas N. Sanderlin, Stuart M. Williams & Robert D. Jamison.(1979).Cable Laying Ship.Presented at the April 18, 1979, meeting of Chesapeake Section of The Society of Naval Architects and marine Engineers.</ref>

[[File:2024-11-26 03 CABLE INNOVATOR - IMO 9101132 – Victoria, BC CAN.jpg|right|thumb|CS ''Cable Innovator'' at anchor in Victoria, BC Canada, showing a modern design without bow sheaves]]
The most common laying engine in use is the Linear Cable Engine (LCE). The LCE is used to feed the cable down to the ocean floor, but this device can also be reversed and used to bring back up cable needing repair.  These engines can feed {{convert|800|ft|m}} of cable a minute. Ships are limited to a speed of {{convert|8|kn|km/h|spell=in}} while laying cable to ensure the cable lies on the sea floor properly and to compensate for any small adjustments in course that might affect the cables' position, which must be carefully mapped so that they can be found again if they need to be repaired.  Linear Cable Engines are also equipped with a brake system that allows the flow of cable to be controlled or stopped if a problem arises.  A common system used is a fleeting drum, a mechanical drum fitted with eoduldes (raised surfaces on the drum face) that help slow and guide the cable into the LCE.<ref name="Thomas N. Sanderlin 1979"/>   
Cable ships also use “plows” that are suspended under the vessel.  These plows use jets of high-pressure water to bury cable {{convert|3|ft|m|spell=in}} under the sea floor, which prevents fishing vessels from snagging cables as thrall their nets.<ref>Frank, D. Messia; Jon, B. Machin; Jeffery, A.Hill. (2000). The Economic Advantages of Jet-Assisted Plowing.Source: Oceans Conference Record (IEEE), v 1, p 649-656, 2001;  {{ISSN|0197-7385}};  DOI: 10.1109/OCEANS.2001.968800; Conference: Oceans 2001 MTS/IEEE - An Ocean Odyssey, November 5, 2001 - November 8, 2001; Sponsor: Marine Technology Society; IEEE; OES; Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.</ref>

[[CS Monarch (1945)|HMTS ''Monarch'']]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hmts-alert.org.uk/h-m-t-s-alert/|title=A Brief History Of The H.M.T.S. Alert|website=H.M.T.S. Alert|access-date=24 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115072556/http://www.hmts-alert.org.uk/h-m-t-s-alert/|archive-date=15 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> (renamed CS ''Sentinel'' 13 October 1970)<ref Name="tat1"/> completed the first [[transatlantic telephone cable]], [[TAT-1]], in 1956<ref>{{cite web|url=http://atlantic-cable.com/Cables/speed.htm|title=History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy - Cable Signalling Speed|website=atlantic-cable.com|access-date=24 March 2019}}</ref> from [[Scotland]] to [[Nova Scotia]] for Britain's [[General Post Office]] (GPO).

[[File:Step in to my Office -- Nav setup on Peter Faber.jpg|thumb|right|CS ''Peter Faber'' navigation systems and other equipment in 2005]]
The Ocean Marine System Group used a cable laying software designed by Makai Ocean Engineering Inc., in five of their cable installation and repair vessels. The MakaiLay software has been used by 90% of the worlds' global fleet of cable ships. These five OMS vessels were installed with this software on August 23, 2023, to reduce failures during installation and increase  reliability, safety, speed, and accuracy:<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kugeler |first1=Hermann |title=OMS Group Commissions Makai Software Across Their Installation and Repair Fleet |url=https://subtelforum.com/oms-group-commissions-makai-software-for-fleet/ |website=subtelforum.com |date=24 August 2023 |publisher=Submarine telecoms Forum |access-date=7 December 2023}}</ref>
* CS ''Cable Vigilance''
* CS ''Île de Ré'' (Formerly Alcatel/Alcatel-Lucent/Nokia ship)
* CS ''Lodbrog'' (Formerly Alcatel/Alcatel-Lucent ship)
* CS ''Teneo''
* ''Peter Faber'' (Formerly Alcatel-Lucent/Nokia ship)
[[File:MV Peter Faber, Calais 1.jpg|thumb|right|The Alcatel CS MV ''Peter Faber'' in 2005 docked at Calais, France where Alcatel has a cable factory]]

=== Repeaters ===
When [[coaxial cable]]s were introduced as submarine cables, a new issue with cable-laying was encountered.  These cables had periodic [[repeater]]s inline with the cable and powered through it.  Repeaters overcame significant transmission problems on submarine cables.  The difficulty with laying repeaters is that there is a bulge where they are spliced in to the cable and this causes problems passing through the [[sheave]].  British ships, such as HMTS ''Monarch'' and [[CS Alert (1961)|HMTS ''Alert'']] solved the problem by providing a trough for the repeater to bypass the sheave.  A rope connected in parallel to the repeater went through the sheave which pulled the cable back in to the sheave after the repeater had passed.  It was normally necessary for the ship to slow down while the repeater was being laid.<ref name="Haigh">K. R. Haigh, ''Cableships and Submarine Cables'', pp. 211–214, Adlard Coles, 1968 {{oclc|497380538}}.</ref>  American ships, for a time, tried using flexible repeaters which passed through the sheave.  However, by the 1960s they were also using rigid repeaters similar to the British system.<ref name="NewScientist">[https://books.google.com/books?id=d_XOKdeyXrYC&pg=PA716 "Two new British cable ships completed"], ''New Scientist'', No. 240, p. 716, 22 June 1961.</ref>

Another issue with coaxial repeaters is that they are much heavier than the cable.  To ensure that they sink at the same rate as the cable (which can take some time to reach the bottom) and keep the cable straight, the repeaters are fitted with parachutes.<ref name="NewScientist"/><ref name="Haigh"/>{{rp|212}}