UK marine engineering company MAATS Tech has announced that it received a patent for its latest product, the Vessel Enabler, a modular chute that enables high-tension horizontal cable lay in deep waters and thus eliminates the need for a vertical lay tower or vertical lay system.
Image: MAATS Tech
Along with informing about receiving the patent, the company has also revealed it is currently engaged with a customer to design a 100te version of the system. The manufacturing of the first unit is expected to start by the end of this year.
Gavin Rippe , Business Director at MAATS stated: “ The concept enables standard cable lay vessels the capability to lay high tension cables in deepwater, for example large scale offshore wind projects. The continuous moving belt presents a large bend radius and no point loads to the cable, and preserves its shape and integrity during overboarding, thus eliminating risks normally associated with such an operatio n.”
The company has been involved in the offshore wind industry for years, delivering cable lay equipment for vessels in Europe, as well as in the Asia Pacific region.
The latest contract for MAATS from within the industry is the one from November 2017 with Colombo Dockyard to design and install a 2,000t carousel on a new cable laying vessel for Japan’s Kokusai Cable Ship , which plans to use it on offshore wind projects in Asia, once delivered in 2019.
A few months earlier, MAATS delivered two carousels rated to 11,500te in total capacity and two tensioners rated at 45te, equipped with regenerative DC braking system, for the NKT Victoria prior to the vessel’s first project – the Caithness-Moray subsea link in Scotland – after which it headed to Denmark to install the export cable connecting the 600MW Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm to the Danish national grid.
Offshore WIND Staff