NTT World Engineering Marine Corp. (NTT WE Marine) is deploying a new submarine cable vessel in the Philippines to meet growing demand for underwater cable maintenance in the region.
On March 27, NTT WE Marine executives, together with Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Endo Kazuya, attended the commissioning of the submarine cable maintenance vessel VEGA II.
Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy, Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Arnaldo Lim, officials from the Maritime Industry Authority, and representatives from various commercial enterprises attended the event.
In an interview, Mamoru Watanabe, NTT WE Marine president and chief executive officer, said the company has maintained submarine cables in the Philippines over the past 25 years, building strong trust with the Philippine market.
“There’s a lot of opportunity in the Philippines, I’m positive about it. I see the opportunity keeps expanding because nowadays the global security is very unstable, and there’s a lot of ongoing unexpected,” Watanabe said.
NTT WE Marine, a subsidiary of Japan’s NTT Group, is celebrating its 25th year of operations in the Philippines. It is the maintenance service provider for the $150-million Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network project commissioned by Globe Telecom Inc., Eastern Communications, and Japan-affiliated telco InfiniVAN Inc.
Last year, NTT WE Marine signed a three-year contract with PLDT Inc. to maintain several submarine cable projects in the Philippines.
“We have signed last year a three-year contract with NTT Marine so that they can be the one to help us when it comes to repair, maintenance, and even the rollout of our submarine cables,” PLDT chief operating officer Menardo Jimenez said on March 27.
“They’ve been very helpful and excellent partners in being able to help us with the maintenance and the repair of our submarine cables,” Jimenez added.
The three-year contract with NTT WE Marine will end in 2026, and PLDT is considering expanding it.
“I think so [extending the contract]; I mean, it looks like in terms of their facilities. They’ve just upgraded their facility. They just launched a new ship. So in terms of facilities, they are new. They’re upgraded. So I think we will continue the partnership with them,” Jimenez said.
Meanwhile, the VEGA II is the result of NTT WE Marine’s latest investment in the Philippine telecommunications infrastructure. It will operate as a Philippine-flagged vessel, generating more jobs for Filipinos.
The VEGA II is also expected to strengthen the maintenance capabilities of submarine cables in the Philippines’ surrounding waters.
