Damen Builds Cable Installer For Maersk Supply Service
New Damen-built vessel for Maersk Supply Service to undertake long-term charter with DeepOcean
A newbuild DP2 cable installation vessel, Maersk Connector, was handed over from Damen Shipyards Group to Maersk Supply Service on February 4, 2016, and now goes directly on a long-term charter for subsea services provider DeepOcean.
Built at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania, Maersk Connector is the second of a new generation of cable-laying vessels based on the Damen Offshore Carrier (DOC) 8500 platform, customized to meet the challenges of reducing offshore renewables costs, the builder said. Developed as a flexible platform for both transport and installation work offshore, the DOC 8500 is 138 meters in length and has a beam of 27.5 meters.
Owned and operated by Maersk Supply Service, the new vessel was delivered on time and on budget as the latest addition to the 50-plus fleet of Maersk offshore support vessels.
Søren Karas, Chief Commercial Officer of Maersk Supply Service, praised the constructive cooperation between the three parties: “Maersk Connector is the result of a successful tri-party cooperation between a quality yard, an experienced subsea service provider and a leading vessel owner and marine operator. Throughout the process there was close communication between all parties, focused on finding solutions.”
“We’ve already been awarded three U.K. and North Sea contracts for Maersk Connector, so we’re very satisfied,” reported DeepOcean Commercial Director Pierre Boyde.
So far the vessel has been contracted to undertake marine works for the Walney Extension Project, the Nemo Link interconnector and the Bligh Bank Phase II Offshore Wind Farm. In combination with new survey, trenching and installation equipment, much of which has been awarded to U.K. manufacturers, Maersk Connector enables DeepOcean to deliver more efficient, cost-effective and safer cable installation, Damen said.
Contributing to production efficiency, the vessel is capable of grounding out with its seven points mooring system, eliminating the need for a separate shallow water cable lay vessel and minimizing the number of cable joints required. The bespoke 7,000-metric-tonne carousel system accommodates bundled installation of high specification cables with no requirement to coil the cables.