Construction of a new 170m long cable-laying vessel is advancing with keel laying work now underway at Vard’s shipyards, part of Fincantieri Group.
The basic design phase of Prysmian Group’s Leonardo da Vinci vessel has been substantially completed, detail engineering is well in progress and steel cutting started in May, with the vessel due to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2021. The €170m plus investment in the vessel is expected to reinforce Prysmian’s project execution capability and its one-stop-shop solution provider approach.
“The acquisition of (the) €700 million Viking Link contract confirms Prysmian’s undisputed market leadership and allows us to pursue opportunities in the submarine cable market, in particular in offshore wind farm sector,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects at Prysmian Group.
Leonardo da Vinci has deep-water installation capabilities for depths of more than 3,000m. It also has two carousels of 7,000t and 10,000t, enabling a reduced transportation time from the factory to the site, thus improving overall project efficiency. It has two independent laying lines; DP3 positioning and seakeeping systems; and an engine and propulsion set up designed for a reduced environmental footprint.
“Leonardo da Vinci will be the most advanced cable layer in the market and it will dramatically improve the Group’s project execution capabilities and ability to support our customers, TSOs and Utilities, in matching the increasing need for upgrading power grids to support the energy transition,” added Mr Ozmen.
Prysmian Group already has the Giulio Verne, Cable Enterprise and Ulisse cable-laying vessels in its existing fleet.
By Rebecca Jeffrey
