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Steel cutting starts for Prysmian’s latest cable laying vessel

new vessel

Steel cutting starts for Prysmian’s latest cable laying vessel

Sister vessel to Leonardo da Vinci will be ready in early 2025

Prysmian Group has kicked off the start of construction for its new cable laying vessel, a sister ship to its state-of-the-art Leonardo da Vinci, with a steel cutting ceremony at the VARD shipyard in Tulcea -  Romania.
 
“Prysmian Group had the honor of hitting the button to start the laser cutter that began to shape the massive 171-meter-long hull of the new  vessel, which is expected to enter operations during the first quarter of 2025.”

“The Leonardo da Vinci has exceeded all expectations since she was delivered in 2021,” said Sebastiano Aleo, head of Submarine Systems Installation in BU Projects, Prysmian Group, after pushing the start button. “This new vessel will allow us to meet the new challenges of an ever-evolving market with a fleet of six ships.”

Sebastiano Aleo

Head of Submarine Systems Installation in BU Projects, Prysmian Group

The energy transition, combined with growing demand for electricity in general, is spurring a boom in infrastructure investment as utilities scramble to lay the longer and more robust electricity interconnectors needed to carry renewable energy from where it is generated to where it is consumed. The market is evolving more and more in terms of cables, interconnections and offshore wind farms. Submarine interconnections are getting installed at increasingly lower depths, and cables are becoming more and more technological - so more capable and structurally adapted vessels are needed to meet the new challenges demanded by an ever-changing market. This is why Prysmian Group has decided to build a new vessel.

With substantially the same hull of Leonardo Da Vinci, the new cable-laying vessel will also be equipped with similar cable installation equipment, such as a capstan suitable for deep water installation at over 3,000 meters; a second independent laying line with linear cable engines in order to increase operating flexibility; and 2 carousels of 7,000 and 10,000 tonnes.

Like Leonardo da Vinci, the new vessel will have green credentials: the high cable load capacity and navigation speed will significantly reduce the number of cable installation campaigns needed, compared to other vessels, cutting CO2 emissions and reducing fuel consumption by approximately 40% compared to a traditional cable-laying vessel. Moreover, the engines cut NOX emissions by 85%, allowing the cable-layer to comply with the most stringent international environmental requirements.

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