The cable is being wound from a transport reel via a rewinding block onto the winch. Photo: MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, T. Klein
A cable connects the seafloor drill rig MARUM-MeBo 200 to the research vessel from where it is deployed for deep sea drilling. This cable – also known as umbilical cord – is about 3000 meters long and needs to be inspected regularly. At the heart of the cable are optical fibers and copper wires, so the device is supplied with power and data is transmitted to the ship's deck. Layers of steel wire, which have just been replaced, provide the strength needed to lower the approximately ten-ton drill on the ocean floor. Technicians have now rewound the cable so that the winch and the cable are ready for the next use of the MARUM-MeBo 200 in October 2018. Similar to a sewing machine, they wound the cable from a transport reel with a tension of approximately five tons via a rewinding block onto the winch.
