Chinese yard starts construction of new cable-laying ship

China's Jiangsu Dayang Marine Equipment has begun construction of a new cable-laying vessel ordered by local owner Huaxia Financial Leasing. The vessel will primarily be used for the installation of submarine cables connecting offshore wind farms to onshore distribution facilities in China.

Upon completion, the vessel will have an LOA of 171 metres, a beam of 38 metres, and a depth of 12.8 metres. The large working deck will be fitted with a reel that can hold up to 15,000 tonnes of submarine cable, allowing connections to and from wind farms that are situated 80 to 100 kilometres from shore.

The vessel will also be fitted with a DP2 system to ensure accurate cable installation. Onboard facilities will allow for the laying of a single landing trunk cable at one time, thus significantly improving cable-laying capacity.

Huaxia Financial Leasing's newest cable-laying vessel is being built in compliance with China Classification Society rules.