State-of-the-art cable installation vessel
THE shipping industry continues the rapid adoption of methanol, which is quickly emerging as the alternative fuel of choice for new vessel construction.
The latest example comes from a Norwegian offshore and subsea installation contractor for energy and telecommunication industries, Cecon Contracting. According to reports it has signed a construction contract for “a ground-breaking state-of-theart cable installation vessel”.
The unique vessel will combine a methanolfuelled main power plant with storage batteries. The vessel was designed by Norway’s NSK Ship Design together Cecon’s engineering team.
It will be built at Turkey’s Sefine Shipyard and is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2025.
SpareBank 1 Nord-Norge funded the project. Cecon along with its partners entered into an agreement for the construction of the new vessel to support the offshore industries.
“One of the main design objectives has been to develop a modern environmentally friendly cable ship without compromising on vessel capacities,” said Cecon.
“The vessel will be delivered with a methanol dual-fuel system and with a battery pack for hybrid energy storage.”
NSK reports that the “green profile” of the vessel with a methanol/battery propulsion system, will reduce emissions by up to 75 per cent.
The vessel, will measure 328 feet in length and have over 10,000 square feet of deck space as well as a 70 tonne crane.
It will have accommodations for up to 100 persons and a capacity for 2800 tonnes of cable in an underdeck storage tank in addition to Cecons modular on-deck cable storage tank.
Shipbuilding orders due for delivery over the next six years will add another 64 methanol-fuelled ships.
Currently, methanol is used primarily by oil and chemical tankers.
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