by GEORGINA MAKA’A 

INTERNET service between Honiara and the provincial towns of Auki, Taro and Noro will remain out of service for several weeks, Solomon Islands Submarine Cable Company (SISCC) says. 

The service was cut off on May 10 after a fishing vessel anchor damaged the undersea domestic cable. 

SISCC, which operates the undersea cable, said the vessel illegally anchored within the no-anchoring zone delimited by the four yellow marker buoys west of the port of Honiara. 

“We are working with our Marine Maintenance contractors to arrange a specialist repair vessel to attend the fault and repair the cable,” Keir Preedy, CEO of SISCC, said. 

“Unfortunately, it is expected that the cable will be out of service for several weeks until the repair can be scheduled,” Preedy added. 

“Until that time SISCC wholesale customers will be seeking temporary satellite capacity to return a level of service to their customers.” 

Fortunately, Preedy said the international cable to Sydney was not impacted by this event and services from Honiara are unaffected.  

“This unfortunate incident illustrates the critical necessity of adherence to the no anchoring zones around the cable system.  

“The submarine cable route and a protection zone boundary around the cable are included on all maritime charts of the Solomon Islands.  

“Maritime police and SIMA are investigating the conduct of the vessel and SISCC will be pursuing costs for the damage and repair from them.” 

Preedy said further updates will be provided once the timeframe for the repair has been determined.