Googles Equiano fibre optic cable lands on St Helena

On a the 29th August 2021 at daybreak, Ruperts Road was alive with activity as people made their way to the seafront. The Teliri Cable Ship had arrived in Ruperts Bay and so too, the long-awaited Equiano Cable.

Government officials, project teams, members of the public and the media gathered to watch the buoys slip from the stern of the ship into the water and with them, the yellow balloon-shaped buoy stating, “Google, Equiano, St Helena Landing 2021”.

At approximately 7:30 am the cable slithered from the ship wrapped in a back and grey casing to boatmen below. Excitement was building as the guys shore side began to make the necessary preparations.

It was the beginning of a historic sequence of events when the surf pushed the labelled buoy onto the black sand where it was cut from the rope and carried across to the those waiting to celebrate it’s arrival. Jerry Roberts, SHG’s Cable Project Manager told Tammy Williams (Saint FM Station Manager) that it had been a very emotional moment for the team.

The whole operation was an impressive team effort between the crew on the Teliri, the guys in the boats and the land side team. Truly a momentous occasion for everyone on the tiny island of Saint Helena.

You can also follow the story in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on the following link https://zeitung.faz.net/faz/unternehmen/2021-08-31/kabelanschluss-fuer-einstige-exil-insel-von-napoleon/656229.html (note the article should be free online in a few days)

You can also listen to a special radio feature broadcasted on Saint FM today about the Cable landing on St Helena