E-Marine has announced the successful completion of the first phase of the deployment of the 4900km TEAMS (The East Africa Marine System) cable to Mombasa, Kenya after the successful landing in Fujairah.

E-Marine is one of the leading companies involved in submarine cable deployment, maintenance and repair.

E-Marine’s flagship, Cable Ship Niwa, began laying the cable earlier this month and is likely to complete the project by June.

The second phase of the project is in progress now and the Teams cable will eventually connect Kenya to the UAE, said a top official.

"Our flagship Cable Ship Niwa is now well underway in the deployment of the Teams cable and has departed the coast of the UAE for Mombasa earlier this month," said Omar Bin Kalban, managing director and chief executive officer of E-Marine.

"We are delighted to announce today the completion of the first phase of the project," he added.

Bin Kalban said the company was aware of the piracy issue and was taking all the necessary steps to protect its crew and vessel.

‘Teams’ is an initiative spearheaded by the government of Kenya to link the country to the rest of the world through a submarine fiber optic cable.

The 4900 km fiber optic cable is to link the city of Mombasa on the coast of Kenya to Fujairah in the UAE. The ultimate capacity of the cable is 1.2 terra bits at 640 Gb/s.

The Kenyan Government owns 45 per cent of the project, with Etisalat owning a 15 per cent share. The remaining is shared amongst regional telecommunications companies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), as well as fund managers.-TradeArabia News Service