A Bermudian helping to keep the world connected through subsea telecommunication cables has offered an insight into her work and encouraged others from the island to explore careers in a sector she believes has a bright future.

Erin Greig remembers seeing the ship she works on stationed in Dockyard when she was growing up.

She was even given a tour of the Sir Eric Sharp, now known as the IT Intrepid, by one of her mother’s friends when she was 5.

The 36-year-old was brought up in Warwick and attended Warwick Academy. However, a desire to travel lured her away from home.

Ms Greig, who lives in Nova Scotia, said: “I love Bermuda. I love being on the ocean. But I had a distinct urge to go and explore the world, maybe it was induced by a lot of ‘rock fever’.

“I knew of friends who had signed up on a programme called ‘Class Afloat’. It's a high school-at-sea programme.

“Historically there had always been at least one Bermudian on board. Essentially, it's like a boarding school at sea. You get to sail around the world for a year while doing academics.

“Initially I went to do the travelling and see as many countries as I could. I actually fell in love with being out at sea.”

From there, Ms Greig worked on small yachts and sail training ships.

In 2016, she got her commercial licence.

She then moved to Canada and worked for five years in that region before hearing about IT Telecom, where she is employed, and underwater cables.

“The world's got this massive underwater network of fibre-optic cable — it’s light transiting across the oceans carrying data,” Ms Greig explained.

“The first subsea cable was laid in like 1890, which is pretty cool.

“There are many departments. I'm on the bridge working in navigation. We get the ship to and from sites where we want to repair or lay cable.

“We work with the survey department, which has pre-arranged where they want the cable to be deployed and then we control the vessel in state, called dynamic position — it’s actually a computer program that will control the exact movements of the vessel.”

Work can be varied. Sometimes the ship is transiting or in port loading cable. But on a project, the shifts are 12 hours, seven days a week, for six weeks at a time.

Ms Greig said: “I had a very steep learning curve. I went from tall ship sailing and yachting to being hired by this company that was really generous enough to give me the training.

“The pressure is there. But, luckily for us, we’re laying out cable. Yes, it's very expensive cable but it's not like we’re working with subsea divers.

“There’s no human life on the line if we make an error.”

The ship carries a 70-strong international crew.

Ms Greig said: “Quite regularly, I’m the only woman on board but we do have other women in our company. We have female surveyors and marine operators, health and safety.

“Luckily, I work with some fantastic guys and I get on with everybody.”

Laying cables has not yet led Ms Greig back to her homeland, although she admits she keeps pushing for an opportunity to return.

She noted: “The vessel that I work on currently is called the IT Intrepid, and she was bought by my company in 2004 from Cable & Wireless.

“She used to be called the Sir Eric Sharp and she was stationed in Bermuda from the 1990s until 2024. It was a vessel that was all white and Bermudians would recognise.

“I remember seeing a big white ship in Dockyard all the time — I just had no idea what it did.

“Apparently — I learnt the last time I was home — one of my mother’s best friends actually took me on a tour of the boat when I was 5. I was climbing in the lifeboats.

“It turns out that’s the same vessel I work on today, which is a very cool coincidence.”

Ms Greig spoke to The Royal Gazette as she was preparing to set sail for another six weeks.

She said: “Right now we are working on a project in the Caribbean. All of the projects we work on are disclosed.

“There are websites you can look up that say what cable networks are being laid or planned.”

She added: “The last time I looked I think there were around 60 cable ships in operation. IT Telecom is a smaller company.

“We are booked out seven years in advance, as many other companies are.

“The demand is huge right now. They cannot train cable crew fast enough for the demand that's coming.”

That demand could open a door to those on the island who are interested in going down a different career path — on land or at sea.

Ms Greig said: “For Bermudians, you definitely would want to get your commercial watchkeeping mate's ticket or officer of the watch ticket. There's a history of Bermudians going to the UK for that.

“Once you get that basic qualification you can be a third mate and then it’s just about applying to the companies.

“If you don’t want to work at sea, there are also opportunities at shore.

“Bermuda did a fantastic job at rewriting the submarine cable legislation, which attracted companies like Google.

“Basically, what that means for Bermuda is now there’s going to be a hub there where they will need electrical engineering technicians to monitor that hub.

“You can be a jointer — the person that physically connects the cable on board — a chief tester. If you have an interest in electrical work that's good.

“If not, you can also drive the boats or work on the engines. There are a lot of opportunities there.”

Ms Greig plans to remain in the industry.

She said: “I have right now my chief mate unlimited ticket; I plan to continue to get my master’s mariners licence.

“I come to Bermuda at least once a year, I try to do twice a year.

“I still have lots of family that live there. I do live in Nova Scotia now but Bermuda's always going to be a home base that I love to return to.”