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The `!CS `*Chamarel`*`!, originally `!CS `*Vercors`*`!, was a `F33f`_`[cable layer`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Cable_layer]`_`f owned by `F33f`_`[France Telecom Marine`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=France_Telecom_Marine]`_`f, laying `F33f`_`[submarine communications cables`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Submarine_communications_cable]`_`f around the world. It was built in 1974 and destroyed by a fire in August 2012. As the `*Vercors`*, the ship laid cables on and between all continents except Antarctica, including numerous trans-Atlantic cables and the first ever Israeli-made cable, and set the record for the deepest submarine buried cable lay in 2000. The ship was badly damaged by a fire and driven aground on 8 August 2012.

>>Contents

• `F0af`_`[History`#history]`_`f

• `F0af`_`[Service`#service]`_`f

• `F0af`_`[Fire`#fire]`_`f

• `F0af`_`[Technical specifications`#technical-specifications]`_`f

• `F0af`_`[References`#references]`_`f

-─

>>History

>>>Service

The `*Vercors`* was built in 1974 by the Société Nouvelle des Ateliers et Chantiers du Havre. It started operation out of `F33f`_`[La Seyne-sur-Mer`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=La_Seyne-sur-Mer]`_`f in 1975.`:cite-ref-atlantic-2-1[`F5bf`_`[2`#cite-note-atlantic-2]`_`f] In the 1970s it laid cables to and from France, including the now-decommissioned ANNIBAL, except ANTINEA, which stretched from `F33f`_`[Morocco`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Morocco]`_`f to the `F33f`_`[Ivory Coast`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Ivory_Coast]`_`f through `F33f`_`[Senegal`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Senegal]`_`f.

In the 1980s the `*Vercors`* laid the ATLANTIS between `F33f`_`[Portugal`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Portugal]`_`f and Senegal, `F33f`_`[TAT-7`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=TAT-7]`_`f and `F33f`_`[TAT-8`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=TAT-8]`_`f, and others across most continents.`:cite-ref-atlantic-2-2[`F5bf`_`[2`#cite-note-atlantic-2]`_`f] In 1991 it deployed `F33f`_`[EMOS-1`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=EMOS-1]`_`f, the first Israeli-made submarine communications cable.`:cite-ref-atlantic-2-3[`F5bf`_`[2`#cite-note-atlantic-2]`_`f]`:cite-ref-betanews-4-0[`F5bf`_`[4`#cite-note-betanews-4]`_`f] Other projects in the 1990s included TASMAN 2 (1992; Australia – New Zealand), `F33f`_`[TAT-9`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=TAT-9]`_`f (1992; Trans-Atlantic), `F33f`_`[PacRimEast`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=PacRimEast]`_`f (1993; Hawaii – New Zealand), SEA ME WE 2 (1994; Southeast Asia – Middle East – Western Europe), `F33f`_`[Columbus II`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Columbus_II]`_`f (1994; Trans-Atlantic), `F33f`_`[TAT-12`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=TAT-12]`_`f and `F33f`_`[TAT-13`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=TAT-13]`_`f (1995), SEA ME WE 3 (1995), ARIANE-2 (1995; France–Greece), `F33f`_`[ITUR`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=ITUR]`_`f (1996; Italy–Turkey–Ukraine), `F33f`_`[KAFOS`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=KAFOS]`_`f (1996; Turkey–Bulgaria), TAGIDE-2 (1996; France–Portugal), `F33f`_`[ALETAR`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=ALETAR]`_`f (1997; Egypt–Syria), `F33f`_`[BERYTAR`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=BERYTAR]`_`f (1997; Lebanon–Syria) and others.`:cite-ref-atlantic-2-4[`F5bf`_`[2`#cite-note-atlantic-2]`_`f]

In 2000, it set the world record for the deepest undersea buried communications cable while laying the `F33f`_`[Southern Cross Cable`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Southern_Cross_Cable]`_`f, at a depth of 1,610 meters (5,280 ft).`:cite-ref-southerncross-5-0[`F5bf`_`[5`#cite-note-southerncross-5]`_`f] It was also involved in `F33f`_`[TAT-14`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=TAT-14]`_`f and the `F33f`_`[East Asia Crossing`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=EAC-C2C]`_`f projects in the early 2000s. After it was renamed to the `*Chamarel`* in 2002 and transferred to France Telecom Marine, it was assigned to maintenance on the `F33f`_`[SAT-3/WASC`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=SAT-3/WASC]`_`f cable system and operated from `F33f`_`[Cape Town`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Cape_Town]`_`f, South Africa.`:cite-ref-atlantic-2-5[`F5bf`_`[2`#cite-note-atlantic-2]`_`f]

>>>Fire

The `*Chamarel`* caught fire off the shore of the `F33f`_`[Skeleton Coast`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Skeleton_Coast]`_`f, close to `F33f`_`[Walvis Bay`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Walvis_Bay]`_`f, in `F33f`_`[Namibia`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Namibia]`_`f on August 8, 2012, following a mission to repair the SAT-3/WASC cable system.`:cite-ref-betanews-4-1[`F5bf`_`[4`#cite-note-betanews-4]`_`f] It had a crew of 51 to 56 on board, which evacuated to the fishing vessel `*Moni`*. Six of them were lightly wounded and none died.`:cite-ref-azonline-6-0[`F5bf`_`[6`#cite-note-azonline-6]`_`f]`:cite-ref-nampa-7-0[`F5bf`_`[7`#cite-note-nampa-7]`_`f] The research ship `*Nathaniel Maxuilili`* helped put out the fire, which raged until August 9,`:cite-ref-nampa-7-1[`F5bf`_`[7`#cite-note-nampa-7]`_`f] before a salvage team was sent to retrieve the `*Chamarel`*.

>>Technical specifications

The CS `*Chamarel`* was 135 meters (442 ft 11 in) long and 18 meters (59 ft 1 in) `F33f`_`[wide`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Beam_(nautical)]`_`f. It had a `F33f`_`[gross tonnage`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Gross_tonnage]`_`f of 8,575 and `F33f`_`[deadweight tonnage`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Deadweight_tonnage]`_`f of 5,900 tons. Its maximum speed was 12.9 knots (23.9 km/h) and the average speed was 11.2 knots (20.7 km/h).`:cite-ref-marinetraffic-3-1[`F5bf`_`[3`#cite-note-marinetraffic-3]`_`f]

>>References

`:cite-note-fleetmon-1`!1.`! "CS Chamarel". `*FleetMon`*. Retrieved August 11, 2012.

`:cite-note-atlantic-2`!2.`! `:citerefglover-bill`aGlover, Bill. "CS Vercors". `*History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications`*. Retrieved August 11, 2012.

`:cite-note-marinetraffic-3`!3.`! "Chamarel". `*MarineTraffic.com`*. Retrieved August 11, 2012.

`:cite-note-betanews-4`!4.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-betanews-4-0]`_`f `:citerefconneally-tim2012`aConneally, Tim (August 10, 2012). "Legendary Fiber Optic Cable Ship Burns to a Crisp on Skeleton Coast". `*Betanews`*. Retrieved August 11, 2012.

`:cite-note-southerncross-5`!5.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-southerncross-5-0]`_`f "CS Vercors sets world record". March 1, 2000. Archived from the original on 2012-07-27. Retrieved August 11, 2012.

`:cite-note-azonline-6`!6.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-azonline-6-0]`_`f `:citerefleuschner-erwin2012`aLeuschner, Erwin (August 10, 2012). "Ship Fire at Sea". `*Allgemeine Zeitung`* (in German). Retrieved August 11, 2012.

`:cite-note-nampa-7`!7.`! `F0af`_`[↑`#cite-ref-nampa-7-0]`_`f "Crew Members Evacuated from Ship After Fire Breaks Out". `F33f`_`[NAMPA`:/page/wikibook/entry.mu`zim=wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2025-08.zim|entry_path=Namibia_Press_Agency]`_`f. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.

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