UK-based DeepOcean has agreed to take the vessel on a seven year charter. Nofinancial terms were disclosed.

Thespecially-equipped vesselwill be delivered from the Damen Galati yard in Romania.

DeepOcean says the ship will extend its capabilities in thelarger cable laying end of the market, representing a new focus on interconnectorprojects, in addition to the oil and gas and renewables sectors.

“We really believe in the new design, a result ofour continuous R&D efforts,” said Damen Shipyards Group chief executive ReneBerkvens.

“Because of the flexibility of the concept, thecustomer can incorporate a large number of purpose-specific demands to suit hisspecific needs.

“This particularvessel has been adapted in close cooperation with our clients, drawing on theexpertise of all three companies to create a state-of-the-art offshore constructionvessel.”

“This project builds on our long lastingrelationship with DeepOcean, supporting their subsea operations,” said Maersk SupplyService chief executive Carsten Plougmann Andersen.

“We are convinced that the cooperation between allthree parties will result in an efficient, reliable and very competitivevessel.”

TonyInglis, DeepOcean UK managing director, said: “This vessel in combination with our survey and trenching capabilitieswill enable us to bundle our services for customers in the offshore power cableand umbilical markets.

“The versatile new vessel will be well suited forinstallation and burial projects using its 7,000t carousel from land-fall todeepwater and also in remote geographical locations.”

RemkoBouma of Damen Shipyards Bergum, who is overseeing vessel construction,describes the vessel as a “semi-customised,modular” design.

“The DOC 8500 has been developed as a flexibleplatform for both transport and installation work offshore,” he says.

“Its bow and slender hull optimise sea keeping inrough seas and suppress slamming. The ship will run on either MGO or HFO andhas DP2 capabilities.

“Its high on-deck cable carrying capacity makes itparticularly competitive as a cable layer, while the vessel has also beenoptimised for shallow water operations, coming complete with a seven-pointmooring system and the ability to take the ground fully loaded.”

The 9,300-dwt, 138 metre long vessel features2,200 sq m of unobstructed deck of 20t per sq metre load capacity with ro-rocapability. It will have a top speed of 12 knots.