3 ms·

What's the loop above Darwin, Australia about? It doesn't make sense.

neurostimulant 5y ago
Could it be connected to some offshore oil rigs in that region? There doesn't seem to be any islands in that area, but if I'm not mistaken, that part of water is an oil and gas producing region.
seb1204 5y ago
I was also wondering where in Oxford Falls the cables land. Oxford Falls is a small suburb north of Sydney and it is ... Inland and high up. There are multiple satellite dishes from Optus, Telstra and others in Oxford Falls on Oxford Falls Rd but then there are the Oxford Falls falls and other suburbs before it reaches the ocean.
femto 5y ago
Mining [1] worth $160+ billion per year. There are mammoth automated iron ore mines in that area [2], with railways to Port Hedland [3]. No doubt their communications links follow the railway alignment to Port Hedland, then join the undersea cable to Darwin, then back to head office. The extra loop heading north is probably the Greater Sunrise gas fields. [1]https://www.vocus.com.au/why-vocus/our-network-and-expertise/north-west-cable-system https://www.vocus.com.au/why-vocus/our-network-and-expertise... [2] https://im-mining.com/2019/08/06/pilbara-leads-way-haul-truck-automation/ https://im-mining.com/2019/08/06/pilbara-leads-way-haul-truc... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Hedland,_Western_Australia#/media/File:Iron_ore_Pilbara_2.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Hedland,_Western_Australi... [4] https://www.woodside.com.au/what-we-do/international-developments-marketing-and--exploration/timor-leste https://www.woodside.com.au/what-we-do/international-develop...
- gassit 5y ago
  It’s just offshore oil and gas platforms. Major iron ore has its own rail track and fibre network. There is no reason for it to loop around, cables are two directional.
  - tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
    The loop could be for redundancy. If you do maintenance on one segment, you can still reach everything by going the other way.

Could it be connected to some offshore oil rigs in that region? There doesn't seem to be any islands in that area, but if I'm not mistaken, that part of water is an oil and gas producing region.

seb1204 5y ago

I was also wondering where in Oxford Falls the cables land. Oxford Falls is a small suburb north of Sydney and it is ... Inland and high up. There are multiple satellite dishes from Optus, Telstra and others in Oxford Falls on Oxford Falls Rd but then there are the Oxford Falls falls and other suburbs before it reaches the ocean.

femto 5y ago

Mining [1] worth $160+ billion per year. There are mammoth automated iron ore mines in that area [2], with railways to Port Hedland [3]. No doubt their communications links follow the railway alignment to Port Hedland, then join the undersea cable to Darwin, then back to head office. The extra loop heading north is probably the Greater Sunrise gas fields. [1]https://www.vocus.com.au/why-vocus/our-network-and-expertise/north-west-cable-system https://www.vocus.com.au/why-vocus/our-network-and-expertise... [2] https://im-mining.com/2019/08/06/pilbara-leads-way-haul-truck-automation/ https://im-mining.com/2019/08/06/pilbara-leads-way-haul-truc... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Hedland,_Western_Australia#/media/File:Iron_ore_Pilbara_2.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Hedland,_Western_Australi... [4] https://www.woodside.com.au/what-we-do/international-developments-marketing-and--exploration/timor-leste https://www.woodside.com.au/what-we-do/international-develop...

gassit 5y ago
It’s just offshore oil and gas platforms. Major iron ore has its own rail track and fibre network. There is no reason for it to loop around, cables are two directional.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
  The loop could be for redundancy. If you do maintenance on one segment, you can still reach everything by going the other way.