The cable is stored in large tanks in the factory as it is assembled. When the ship arrives at the loading port, the cable is transferred to the ship tanks. On the Tyco Reliance Class ships there are three tanks. A specific ‘tanking plan' is devised to ensure that the cable is loaded in the correct order while maintaining the appropriate weight ratios for the vessel loading.

As the cable is assembled in the factory, it has to be loaded in to the tanks with the last piece of cable to be laid at the bottom of the tank. The tanks are connected to the ship's cable engines via a series of pathways with rollers and carefully designed bends. As the cable is fed out of the tank, the repeaters and branching units also have to be positioned on the pathway at the right time to ensure there's no cable snags or foul-ups.