On July 23, the Damen Shipyards Galati held a launching ceremony for subsea support vessel Maersk Connector.
The newbuild vessel is owned and operated by Maersk Supply Service. The cable-laying vessel is built to operate within a seven year charter agreement with DeepOcean. It is the second of a new generation of cable-laying vessels developed by the Damen Shipyards Group.
Equipped with survey and trenching capabilities, Maersk Connector will increase DeepOcean’s abilities to perform a better service in the expanding cable-laying market.
Operating with a 7,000 tonne carousel, the cable-laying vessel will be well suited for installation and burial projects from landfall to deep water and also for operations in remote geographical locations.
The vessel is designed to meet the high standards demanded by North Sea oil and gas customers.
Pierre Boyde, Commercial Director at DeepOcean, said:
“Last week we signed our first project for the Maersk Connector – on the Bligh Bank Wind Farm – and look forward to finalising further contracts elsewhere in the near future.”
Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer at Maersk Supply Service, Søren Karas, stated:
“We are naturally very pleased to see that our long-term customer DeepOcean has already assigned the vessel to its first project, and we look forward to providing superior marine operations to enable DeepOcean’s continued success.”
Image: Damen
Developed as a flexible platform for both transport and installation work offshore, the second Damen Offshore Carrier 8500 is 138 metres long and has a beam of 27.5 metres.
The 9,300 dwt vessel features 2,200 square metres of unobstructed deck with a loading capacity of 20t/m2 and ro-ro capability. Ship’s maximum speed will be 12 knots.
The Maersk Connector is now berthed at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania. The next phase of the ship’s building project is the installation of cranes, bridge as well as the fitting-out of the interior, which are already started.
Sea trials are expected to commence by the end of 2015.