Van Oord launches next-gen hybrid cable-laying vessel

Van Oord’s next-generation green cable-laying vessel Calypso has been launched at VARD’s Tulcea shipyard in Romania.

Van Oord laid the keel for its new 130-metre cable-laying vessel in December last year.

The Dutch company placed an order with VARD for Calypso a year before the keel laying ceremony as part of the firm’s strategy to strengthen its position in the offshore wind market.

The vessel was named after the sea goddess Calypso, the daughter of Atlas. The name was also partly inspired by the iconic ship of the legendary French marine explorer Jacques Cousteau.

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.

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

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

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

Van Oord has also ordered a self-elevating offshore installation vessel that will be able to operate on methanol and install wind turbines with a capacity of up to 25 MW.

The vessel, named Boreas after the Greek god of the northern wind, is being built by the Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard in China and is expected to enter the market in 2024.

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