Splicing in-pipe heat-trace?

My lake water intake has an in-pipe heat-trace for freeze-protection. I know that now. I wish I had known before I cut through the pipe with a hack-saw to install some quick-disconnects. I knew the cottage had a heated water intake, but I thought it was the unconnected section of insulated pipe I found in the crawlspace. Apparently that was the _old_ heated water intake.

Turns out in-pipe heat-trace cable like that costs around $1000.

So, the question now is can I splice the heat trace? It appears to be some kind of mineral-insulated cable. I've seen kits for splicing MI cables, but I'm not sure if there are any that are usable inside a pipe where it will be constantly submerged in water.

I have spliced the cable with various results. But crimp inline connectors and shrink tube should work, maybe silicone in the assembly first.