Van Oord’s new cable-laying vessel drops anchor in Norway

Van Oord’s new cable-laying vessel Calypso has arrived in Norway where it will undergo the installation of cable carousels, as well as other finishing touches.

Work on the first of two cable carousels has already started at VARD’s Brattvaag shipyard in Norway, where the construction of Calypso will be fully completed.

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

Van Oord placed an order with VARD for the 131-meter-long vessel at the end of 2020 as part of the strategy to strengthen its position in the offshore wind market. The keel laying took place in December last year.

The cable layer is expected to be fully operational in 2023.

Calypso, which will be Van Oord’s second-cable laying vessel in addition to the Nexus, 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.

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

It will mainly be deployed to install inter-array and export cables for offshore wind projects, including HVDC cables.