Offshore staff
MONACO — The Bluestone Group secured a contract last week for plan approval and site supervision of two new cable-laying vessels operated by Prysmian.
The contract acquisition follows Prysmian’s announcement in December 2023 of a €350 million (US$380.2 million) investment to expand its cable-laying vessel fleet to facilitate the global power grid upgrade for the energy transition.
The Bluestone Group is supervising the construction of another cable-laying vessel, Monna Lisa, for Prysmian.
The first vessel, under construction, is being built by VARD. With a length of about 190 m and a breadth of about 34 m, the new vessel will be equipped with three carousels and feature advanced cable installation solutions, with a cable-loading capacity of more than 19,000 tons. The vessel will be operational by the beginning of 2027.
Currently under design, the second vessel, with a length of about 167 m and a breadth of about 40 m, will be equipped with carousels for a total cable-loading capacity of 10,000 tonnes. The DP2 positioning, seakeeping systems and an eight-point mooring system will enable the ship to meet its operating capabilities in shallow-water cable laying and burial installation, the company said, even in harsh environmental conditions. The vessel will be operational by the first half of 2025.
Both vessels will be equipped with high-voltage shore connection systems to power them with clean energy during loading operations.
Moreover, VARD recently contracted TMC Compressors to supply a complete marine compressed air system to a newbuild cable-laying vessel that it is constructing for Prysmian. Under the contract, TMC will deliver a marine compressed air system consisting of control and service air compressors to the vessel.
TMC will manufacture the equipment in the Nordic region and deliver it to one of VARD’s shipyards in Norway. TMC has not disclosed the value of its contract.
This is the third cable-laying vessel Prysmian has contracted with VARD. The second is Monna Lisa (under construction) and the first vessel, Leonardo da Vinci, was delivered from VARD to Prysmian in 2021.
VARD has chosen TMC to supply the marine compressed air system to all three vessels.
The hull will be built at VARD Shipyards Romania in Tulcea, while the final outfitting, commissioning and delivery will be carried out by one of VARD’s shipyards in Norway.
05.16.2024
