Italy’s Prysmian Group has announced it plans to spend more than €170m ($210.3m) building a next-generation cable laying vessel, to support its installation business in the interconnector and offshore wind markets.

The unit, which will have state-of-the-art positioning and seakeeping systems so as to be able to operate in water depths of more than 2,000 metres, will feature enlarged onboard cable-loading capacity, as well as heavy-duty ploughs and other technology for complex cable burial operations.

The vessel is expected to be delivered by Q2 2020.

“With three of the world’s most advanced cable laying vessels in our existing fleet - Giulio Verne, Cable Enterprise and Ulisse – and the widest range of high–tech installation and burial equipment, such as the Hydroplow, and the Sea Mole and Otter machines, this new strategic asset will consolidate the group’s leadership in the submarine cables and systems business and will boost the capability of its submarine cable operations by insourcing installation activities while achieving on-time delivery and execution,” said Prysmian in a statement.

The company in recent years has shifted strategic approach toward a turnkey offering that encompasses engineering, manufacturing and installation to full monitoring and diagnostic services.

Securing some €1m in new assignments in 2017 – including to lay the Britain-France IFA2 interconnection project and to link three offshore wind farms to the French grid for transition system operator RTE – took the group’s submarine business order book to over €2.4bn.

Wind

Prysmian plans offshore cable laying supership