Page 39: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2026)

CABLE SHIPS

Jenkin. Scheduled for imminent introduction, the vessel brings an unrivalled 28,000-tonne cable load intake to the market in a design also distinguished by the capabil- ity to operate on methanol fuel.

The ? rst of two sisters booked with China Merchants

Heavy Industry (CMHI) Haimen yard, the Fleeming Jen- kin gives an added edge to competition for assignments in the electrical interconnector and offshore renewable en- ergy sectors. The design’s overall scale facilitates lay jobs in both shallow and ultra-deep waters (down to 4,000 metres) over longer distances with fewer connections and allowing for HVDC cable bundling in a single operation.

The ship’s home-grown medium-speed machinery ema- nates from the Ghent factory of Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC). The ? ve main gensets, feeding electrical energy to the propulsion units and maneuvering thrusters, are based on prime movers that will enable ? ring on methanol, bio- diesel or hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as well as die- sel oil. The plant comprises four 12-cylinder DV36MeOH models plus an eight-cylinder DZDMeOH engine, for a maximum combined output of 30,600kW, with emission abatement achieved using SCR and DPF systems.

Contributing to the ef? ciency and designated ultra-low emission vessel (ULEv) concept behind the new breed of cable layer is a hybrid power element featuring a 2.5MWh battery installation and related drive arrangement. The

ESS is designed to confer peak shaving, load smoothing, spinning reserve, and optimized engine loading.

Second-of-class William Thomson was put into the water in April 2026 and is expected to make her service

Danish cable maker NKT has a debut by mid 2027.

23,000-tonne load capacity vessel

Meanwhile, a newbuild with a 23,000-tonne capac- in build for delivery next year. ity for high-voltage (HV) cable is nearing completion in Norway to the account of Danish cable maker group riven by the growth of the offshore renew- NKT. Developed by Norwegian consultancy Salt Ship ables sector and its advance into deeper Design and due to enter service in 2027, the 177-me- waters, as well as by widening investment tre NKT Eleonora will work in conjunction with the in cables connecting electrical grids in dif- 140-metre NKT Victoria to connect offshore wind farms ferent countries, emergent generations of to the onshore grid, as part of a project led by Dutch-

D cable ship are distinguished by scale, productivity, and German transmission system operator TenneT.

technological intensity. Shipbuilding contractor VARD assigned hull fabrica-

Ongoing geopolitical tensions are also giving a ? llip to tion to its Tulcea yard in Romania, and the vessel was the development of subsea cable infrastructure, whereby subsequently towed to VARD Brattvaag’s premises in concerns over energy security are being addressed through western Norway during July for the ? nal phases of con- offshore wind energy and international interconnector struction and out? tting. The building of the new ? eet projects, further extending the scope for specialized vessels. addition has progressed concurrently with the expansion

Belgian international construction and dredging group of HV cable manufacturing facilities at NKT’s Swedish

Jan De Nul is set to take cable ship capacity to a new plant at Karlskrona. highpoint with its 215-metre, Chinese-built Fleeming UK-based Global Marine, a specialist in subsea ? ber- www.marinelink.com 39

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