patrick grenard: of course it's not only a harsh environment above the sea surface, it's also a harsh environment underwater. but we knew that we had a mission to accomplish. it was to install that station despite the difficululties, despitththe harsh environment, the complexity of the project, we had to d do it. man: once we get going, we can adjust it, ok? narrator: after more than 4 years of meticulous planning, two triplets of underwater microphones called hydrophones are finally loaded onto a specialized cable ship. staanley: we have to be very careful loading our system on. we have a lot of cables connecting the system together, and there's also some delicate electronics, the laser systems, et t cetera. we have specialist crane operators and 10 people-- 10 people-plus supporting the loading. man: [indistinct] stanley: and then we transit to the cable factory in port smith. narrator: it will take 3 days to load 120 kilometers of underwater cable...and another 5 weeks to reach the crozet islands in the south indian ocean. [man speaking french] [penguins squawking] [daniel fouquet