Nexans, a company in the cable and optical fibre industry, has entered into a partnership with Crowley Wind Services for developing and operating a Jones Act-compliant cable-laying barge.

The US-flagged barge, measuring 90 metres, will be constructed in Louisiana and tested in the U.S Gulf to confirm it meets the specifications of Nexans.

The crew will consist of American mariners operating under Crowley, who stated that the ship will lay and bury subsea cables required to deliver energy from offshore to the grid on the shore.

The barge would be the first to have vertical injectors and a dynamic positioning system, and a multiple-anchor positioning system allowing for precise and efficient cable placement even in challenging environments.

It will have a 3500-ton capacity carousel for laying and burying subsea cables with the help of burial tools like vertical injector, jetting ROV, jet sled and can be upgraded to 7000 tons with 2 carousels for bundle cable lay and burial.

It will support Equinor’s Empire Offshore Wind Farm from New York and can be configured to lay or repair cables for many other subsea uses.

Source: www.marineinsight.com