Henry-P.-Lading

Cable Ship H.P. Lading, which is usually used for laying submarine cables, is engaged this month in a somewhat opposite task: In the waters between Gedser and Rostock the vessel is fishing a 40 km long undersea cable Kontek up from the seabed. The cable was laid in the mid-1990s as part of the first high-voltage link between Eastern Denmark and Germany. However, problems arose with the cable connectors, and therefore it was decided to replace the cable. The new cable was put into operation in late 2010. The crew of H.P. Lading is cutting the wire up 5 to 7 km long pieces down on the bed and closes the ends, to avoid loss of oil from the oil-filled cable. The cable is pulled out of its bed, rolled up on the ships turntable and shipped to a scrap company that recovers the metals.