VESSEL REFIT | Runneng 168 – Versatile, high-capacity cable-layer for Chinese waters

Chinese renewable energy company Green Holdings has taken delivery of a large cable-laying vessel from local shipyard Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Engineering.

CIMC Raffles claims Runneng 168 is the first 15,000GT cable-laying vessel to be completed in China as well as the first locally-built vessel of its kind to be fitted with DP2 azimuthing controls and the first with capacity to load up to 10,000 tonnes of 220kV submarine cable. It has a length of 114.3 metres, a beam of 37 metres, a moulded depth of 6.1 metres, a full load draught of 3.95 metres, and a full load displacement of 14,820 tonnes. The vessel was designed to have unlimited navigation capability and can sail at a speed of just over 10 knots.

The DP2 system can help ensure the precise laying of submarine cables, hence reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This also extends the vessel's endurance and range, allowing it to operate farther out to sea and for longer periods. The vessel was designed to have a self-sustaining endurance of 1,500 hours, more than double that of Runneng 118, the only other vessel in the current active fleet of Green Holdings and another converted cable-layer.

The equipment on deck includes an 8,000-tonne turntable, an array of 50-tonne positioning winches, and cranes with lifting capacities of 30, 50, and 60 tonnes including a hydraulic gantry crane. Accommodations are available for 60 personnel.

The conversion work on Runneng 168 was carried out by Yantai CIMC Raffles with assistance from Nanjing Puning Ship Design. The vessel is operated by Green Holdings subsidiary Hainan Runneng Offshore Engineering Service.

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