Cableship Blaze off Skeleton Coast Forces Abandon Ship

France Telecom-Orange announce abandonment of its cable ship 'Chamarel' off the coast of Namibia.

A fire broke out on the cableship Chamarel while returning from a repair operation on the Sat3-Safe cable off the coast of Namibia in the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite the crew's efforts to control the fire, the decision was made to abandon the ship and all 56 crew members were safely recovered by a Namibian fishing vessel without injury or incident. They are currently located at the Namibian port, Walvis Bay and will be repatriated in the coming days.


The owners say that the cause of the fire has not yet been established and a full investigation will be launched as soon as the vessel has been recovered. The Group will also work with the Namibian authorities to ensure minimum environmental impact during the recovery operation.

This incident has no immediate impact on submarine cables in the area, which will continue to function normally.

France Telecom-Orange operates six cable ships and is one of the leading players in the industry. Four vessels are dedicated to maintenance services in the Mediterranean basin, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Two vessels are specialized in laying new telecommunications submarine systems worldwide.