NKT hires ABB to optimize performance of newbuild cable-laying vessel

Danish power cable manufacturer and installation company NKT has awarded Swedish–Swiss automation company ABB with a contract to supply a power distribution system for its newbuild cable-laying vessel (CLV) that enables integration of multiple power sources and allows engines to run at variable speeds.

ABB will deliver its Onboard DC Grid power distribution system for NKT Eleonora, expected to help reduce fuel consumption, as well as its Azipod electric propulsion and Power and Energy Management System (PEMS).

The company was also the systems integrator for the 2017-built NKT Victoria. Scheduled to enter operations in 2027, the 176-meter-long NKT Eleonora will have a cable-laying capacity of 23,000 metric tons and will perform subsea cable installation.

According to ABB, the vessel’s DP performance will be enhanced with three 3,500kW Azipod units maximizing maneuverability and thrust, and the PEMS optimizing total energy use. This will be the first vessel equipped with a DC system to earn DNV’s DynPos AUTRO CB notation for DP operations.

The scope of supply also covers several solutions from the ABB Ability digital portfolio, including the ABB Ability OCTOPUS – Marine Advisory System, monitoring and forecasting vessel motions, and ABB Ability Remote Diagnostic and Condition-Based Maintenance. Connected equipment will be protected by the ABB Ability Cyber Security suite, certified according to DNV’s Cyber Secure Essential SP1 class notation.

“We are delighted to be working with ABB again following our successful collaboration on NKT Victoria, which, upon delivery, was the most advanced vessel of its kind worldwide,” said Darren Fennell, Executive Vice President and Head of HV Solutions Karlskrona in NKT “NKT Eleonora will be similarly groundbreaking, and it was only fitting that we sought power, propulsion and advisory solutions that could support the bold operational and sustainability ambitions we have for our latest vessel.”

On the back of a record order backlog and strong market outlook, NKT announced investments in the new vessel, as well as in a new high-voltage factory on the existing site in Karlskrona, Sweden, in May 2023, with both assets expected operational from 2027. The company is currently also constructing a new hall in Alingsås for testing power cable accessories up to 525 kV.

Salt Ship Design designed the vessel, with the construction underway in collaboration with the Norwegian shipyard VARD.

NKT Eleonora will be able to run on both methanol and HVO/marine diesel oil and will feature Wärtsilä 32 methanol engines. Wärtsilä is also supplying the front tunnel and azimuth thruster, and NOV REMACUT the cable lay system, cranes and mission equipment.