The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat

How one crew risked radiation, storms, and currents to save Japan from digital isolation.

The VergeJosh DziezaBy Josh Dzieza Art by Kristen RadtkeArt by Kristen Radtke Photography by Go TakayamaPhotography by Go Takayama

As the feature piece says, you’ll only notice the industry if it breaks.

The lifestyle can be an obstacle. A career in subsea means enduring long stretches far from home, unpredictable schedules, and ironically, very poor internet. “Everyone complains about that,” said Kaida Takashi, a senior advisor at KCS, who is trying to get the Ocean Link set up with Starlink. It’s a generational difference, he said. For someone like him, a 62-year-old ham radio enthusiast, Wi-Fi barely fast enough to email is a luxury. Other industry veterans reminisced about the days when they felt fortunate to get faxes on board, or waiting for the mailbag in port, or the novelty of using the very cable they were laying to make calls from the middle of the ocean. But for people who grew up with an expectation of constant connectivity, the disconnection of shipboard life can cause visible discomfort. “It’s a part of them,” one industry veteran marveled of his younger colleagues. “They can’t let it go.”