Offshore staff
MILAN, Italy — Prysmian Group has completed commissioning of the inter-array cable system for the Fécamp wind farm 24 km from the Normandy coast in northern France, according to a Dec. 27 company news release.
Fécamp comprises 71 wind turbine generators with a total capacity of nearly 500 MW.
Operator EDF Renewables awarded main contracts in 2020, with Prysmian responsible for the design, manufacture, installation, burial, termination and testing of 118 km of 33-kV submarine cables.
These would have 630-sq-mm cross-sections and both aluminum and copper cores to connect the 7-MW turbines to the offshore substation.
Prysmian now plans to expand its offshore cable-lay fleet, by investing about €350 million (%386.8 million) in two new vessels.
The first, to be constructed by Vard Group in Norway, will be of the VARD 9 18 design, an evolution of the design for the Monna Lisa that the shipyard is currently constructing.
It will be about 185 m long with a breadth of 34 m and three carousels providing total capacity of 19,000 metric tons, among the highest on the market, according to Prysmian. This should lead to reduced transportation times from the factory to the vessel.
A bollard pull of more than 180 metric tons should allow it to perform simultaneous laying and burial of up to four cables with a variety of heavy-duty ploughs, for an unrivalled optimisation of offshore operations. It will also have DP3 positioning and seakeeping systems and is due to start operation by early 2027.
The other vessel will be the evolution of the design for the Ulisse vessel, 167 m long with a breadth of 40 m and two carousels (one split in two concentric sections), providing a total cable loading capacity of 10,000 mt.
Its DP2 positioning and seakeeping systems and eight-point mooring system will suit shallow-water cable laying and burial installation, including in harsh conditions. This vessel should be operational by first-half 2025.
Both new ships will be equipped with HV shore connection systems to receive electrical power during loading operations, with the deeper-water Monna Lisa also featuring diesel generators suitable for biodiesel blends and battery hybrid systems.
01.07.2024
