VARD handed over the Discovery cable company. The ship has begun. voyage to home port

In the second half of July, a hybrid cable car Discovery left Vard Langsten shipyard in Norway and started voyage Japan. The ship is to operate the construction of offshore wind farms, the installation of power cables and the work on HVDC transmission connections.

About the start of the cruise he reported VARD, Norwegian company belonging to the Fincantieri Group. The ship, while under construction marked NB 980, was handed over to Japanese company Toyo Construction on 26 June. It was the first ship ordered by this customer at VARD and the first built by the Norwegian group for the Japanese offshore wind energy market.

Cable for over $200 million

The contract for the design and construction of the ship was signed in December 2023 and its value exceeded $200 million. The hull was built in a VARD-owned shipyard in Romania's Tulcza, while the unit's equipment, system launch and attempts were carried out at the Norwegian shipyard Vard Langsten.

Discovery built according to the VARD 9 15 project developed for Toyo Construction. The structure was adapted to the conditions prevailing off the coast of Japan, but the ship can also carry out work on other markets. It is to operate both in shallow waters and in projects carried out at larger depths, including at floating wind farms.

The ship is 150.1 m long, 28 m wide and 7 m maximum immersion. Its gross capacity is 18,985, and the combined power of the power system reaches 12.8 MW. There are 90 seats available on board, which will be accommodated in single cabins.

Nine thousand tons of cables on board

The most important element of equipment Discovery There are two cable carousels with a total capacity of 9,000 tons of cable. The carousel placed below the deck holds 5,000 tonnes, while the second one, mounted on the deck, another 4,000 tonnes.

The ship can arrange cables connecting turbines of the offshore wind farm, cables bringing energy to land and wires forming connections between electricity systems. He was also prepared to bury cables in the seabed.

After dismantling the stacking equipment cable Discovery may also be used as an installation vessel. In this configuration it will be used for the installation of foundations and anchoring systems of floating wind turbines, as well as for work on offshore infrastructure HVDC transmission.

Two cranes with active swing compensation (AHC) were installed on board. The main crane has a load capacity of 400 tons and an auxiliary 100 tons. The ship was also equipped with a DP2 class dynamic positioning system, a four-point anchorage system and a helicopter landing site.

Hybrid energy system

Discovery equipped with batteries with a capacity of 2 MWh, a power management system and a connection to power the ship from land during a stop in port. These solutions are intended to reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides when working at sea and at berth.

After reaching Japan Discovery will be completed before the operation begins. According to Toyo Construction, Discovery ed Norway Japan will last about three months. Once the ship has arrived, it will pass the final preparations before its operation, and its home port will be Ishikari Bay New Port.

Source: Fincantieri / Toyo Construction