Prysmian to further expand its cable-laying vessel fleet

Prysmian to further expand its cable-laying vessel fleet

Prysmian Group, a world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, has announced an investment of approximately €200 million in a new cutting-edge cable-layer plus an adjustment for cable equipment of approximately €40 million. The new vessel is expected to be fully operational by Q1 2025 and will reinforce Prysmian’s project execution capabilities and its EPCI (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation) approach.

As for Leonardo da Vinci, the new vessel will be built by the VARD Group (a subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group), one of the world leaders in the design and construction of specialised vessels for the offshore market and will stand out for its technical performance, operational flexibility and sustainability.

The new cable-laying vessel will be very similar to Leonardo da Vinci, which was delivered in 2021 and exceeded all expectations in its first year of operations, being fully recognised by many in the market as the best-in-class vessel to meet the growing demand of the submarine cable industry.

“The development of more efficient and sustainable power grid infrastructure is key to enable the energy transition and submarine cables are an essential component,” said Valerio Battista, CEO Prysmian Group. “As global leader we are fully committed to technology innovation and we are happy to partner with worldwide leaders in the construction of vessels like Fincantieri and Vard to improve also our installation capabilities.”

“The complexity of such a ship fully demonstrates Fincantieri’s ability to ensure its customers technological excellence, constant innovation and commitment to sustainability,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Fincantieri. “Indeed, the highly demanding context in which the vessel will operate, both in terms of environment and high-tech requirements, will enhance the sophisticated latest generation onboard systems. We are therefore particularly pleased to serve Prysmian – once again – with a successful project in a sector such as the cabling one, while supporting energy transition, which will attract investments in the near future.”

With substantially the same hull as Leonardo Da Vinci, a length of approximately 170m and a breadth of about 34m, the cable-laying vessel will also be equipped with similar cable installation equipment such as: a first laying line with a capstan suitable for deep water installation at over 3,000m; a second independent laying line with linear cable engines in order to increase operating flexibility; 2 carousels of 7,000 and 10,000 tonnes, which ensure the highest cable loading capacity in the market, enabling a reduced transportation time from the factory to the site, for an overall improved project efficiency.

The bollard pull will be in excess of 180 tonnes conferring the capability to perform complex installation operations and supporting a variety of burial tools. The vessel will be equipped with state-of-the-art DP3 positioning and seakeeping systems, while the maximum transit speed will exceed 16 knots.

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