Global telecommunications firm France Telecom-Orange says it has begun efforts to retrieve its undersea broadband cable repair ship that was engulfed by a fire along Namibia’s coast two weeks ago.
The company has said that experts are making every effort to ensure the retrieval operation minimises the environmental impact of the incident.
The ship, named the Chamarel, ran aground following a fire on August 8. It is currently located on sand banks 30 kilometres from Namibia’s Henties Bay, according to the telco.
All 56 crew members were safely recovered by a nearby fishing vessel without injury or incident.
“The Namibian Ministry of Transport has requested that France Telecom-Orange remove any pollutants from the vessel and move her to a location where she will not pose any threat to the environment,” France Telecom-Orange has said in a statement.
"In agreement with the insurance companies, a specialist company, Smit Salvage, has been appointed to oversee these operations,” the company has further stated.
France-Telecom Orange operates six cable ships worldwide.
Investigations into the fire on board the ship off Namibia’s are ongoing.
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