Keel laid for Van Oord’s new cable-layer

Van Oord has laid the keel for its new 130-meter hybrid cable-laying vessel Calypso.

The Dutch company held a ceremony at the Vard Tulcea shipyard in Romania to mark the milestone.

To remind, Van Oord placed an order with VARD for Calypso in December last year as part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its position in the offshore wind market.

Apart from the possibility to run on biofuel, this 130-meter hybrid vessel has future fuel-ready engines with built-in flexibility to anticipate e-fuels.

Calypso will feature a large battery pack, a shore supply connection and an energy management system, which are expected to reduce CO2, NOx and SOx emissions.

The DP2 vessel will be equipped with a below-deck cable carousel and a second carousel on deck, with a total cable-carrying capacity of 8,000 tons.

The vessel, expected to be fully operational in 2023, will be Van Oord’s second cable-laying vessel in addition to the Nexus.