Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) has successfully completed an upgrade to the MD3 plough recently acquired by Orange Marine.

The plough, which was delivered to the SMD Services team for refurbishment in July, received a full control system upgrade and extensive overhaul.

The project involved replacing the plough’s original control system hardware which had become obsolete. SMD also supplied a passive scissor frame assembly to be fitted to the launch and recovery system.

In order to integrate the new and original hardware, SMD installed QNX software update and also fitted the plough with an upgraded surveillance system featuring top of the range sonar, cameras and lighting.

The MD3 upgrade provides Orange Marine with new capabilities for the installation and burial of optical submarine cables which will be used for the first time in the installation of the Kanawa system between French Guiana and Martinique. The cable is scheduled to be operational in late 2018 and is being put in place to handle traffic growth and diversify connection points to ensure quality of service between countries.

SMD Services’ dedicated offshore support team is travelling to Brest in France to mobilise the plough on board the vessel for Orange Marine.

Raynald Leconte, chairman and CEO of Orange Marine, said: “We are very pleased to complete the upgrade and refurbishment of this MD3 plough with SMD Services. This opportunity completes the range of submarine equipment alongside the equipment produced by Simec, a department of Orange Marine.”