Van Oord’s new DP2 cable-laying vessel Nexus was successfully launched at Damen Shipyards in Galati, Romania on 30 June 2014.
The 123 m multipurpose vessel will be deployed installing electrical cables for offshore wind farms. With a beam of almost 28 m and a dynamic positioning system, Nexus vessel will be equipped with a huge cable carousel with a capacity of more than 5,000 tons and an offshore crane that will enable it to lay heavy and long export cables. The vessel has accommodation for 90 people. Van Oord and Damen have jointly developed the vessel.
Van Oord has made the investment in this innovative vessel to pursue its strategy to offer Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts to offshore wind farm developers. CEO Pieter van Oord : ‘This investment highlights our drive to continuously serve new and existing markets by investing in state-of-the-art technology and marine ingenuity.’
Nexus will be operational in the spring of 2015. The vessel’s first project will be the Gemini wind farm at 55 km off the coast of Schiermonnikoog.