Mertech Marine is the global leader in the sustainable recycling and responsible recovery of end-of-life telecom cables from the ocean floor. Since their pioneering start in the early 2000s, Mertech Marine’s founders have built a world-class blue economy business with entrepreneurial flair, sheer determination and technical innovation.
The company has now recovered and recycled over 105,000 km (110,000Mt) of cable – enough to encircle the Earth almost three times. They have recycled virtually all types of submarine telecom cables, including telegraph, coaxial and fiber optic cable, saving a net 300,000 tons of CO₂e by displacing conventionally mined or extracted raw materials.
Over the past two decades, Mertech Marine has built a global cable recycling business comprised of a main recycling facility in South Africa and a remote recycling facility in South East Asia, with mobile processing capacity deployed in certain circumstances. The custom-built plants’ modular designs make it exceptionally scalable, currently 19,000 Mt/year. These facilities use specialized equipment – developed in-house through significant R&D investment – that has led to innovative solutions for recovering armoured cables and rock armour, and optimizing on-shore recovery work and depot clearance.
Mertech Marine takes reputational risk very seriously, both for itself and its business partners. The company complies with the highest regulations in territorial waters for cable landings recovery and maintains the same standard on the high seas. Mertech Marine’s ISO 90001 and ISO 14001-accredited land-based operations strictly adhere to all relevant environmental, health and safety, social and labor regulations.
Mertech Marine is the only fully vertically integrated marine cable recycling business in the world, covering everything from cable acquisition and ocean recovery to global logistics and processing. This approach is driven by commercial considerations and the need for enhanced risk management. Retaining full control over processing enables the company to guarantee its high standards to suppliers and clients purchasing recycled materials.
Mertech Marine continues to grow and lead the way in cable recovery. Now operating three purpose-built vessels, supported by an efficient global logistics operation feeding its world-class processing facilities, Mertech Marine is the world’s leading marine cable up-lifter and up-cycler.
Mertech Marine is working closely with cable manufacturers to develop a full lifecycle approach that takes the end-to-end costs and benefits of a submarine cable into consideration, from manufacturing and laying to operating, decommissioning, recovery and recycling.
Implementing a holistic approach based on principles of the circular economy marks a major milestone for the company and establishes a robust foundation for the future. This achievement not only drives sustainability in its operations but also supports the broader industry shift toward more responsible and sustainable management of retired marine cables. Mertech Marine is uniquely prepared and positioned to usher in a new era of cleaner global connectivity.
