Fincantieri has secured a contract for the design and construction of a second cutting-edge cable-laying vessel for Prysmian Group, the world leader in energy and telecom cable systems industry. The delivery is scheduled for 2025. The contract value amounts to approximately euro 200 million.

The vessel, which will follow “Leonardo da Vinci” delivered in 2021, will be specialized for advanced subsea operations, and is intended to be the most capable cable-layer in its market. The cable-layer, including the main systems and equipment, will be built by Vard Group’s production network. She will be about 170 meters long, with a beam of 34 meters, and a bollard pull in excess of 180 tons, conferring the capability to perform complex installation operations for depths of more than 3,000 meters. State-of-the-art performances, such as the load capacity and the navigation speed, will significantly reduce the number of cable installation campaigns needed, thus enabling an overall decrease in CO2 emissions and a drop in fuel consumption of approximately 40% compared to today’s standards. In addition, high efficiency propulsion systems, including a battery pack for a total power of 3 megawatt, will cut nitric oxide emissions by 85%, fully compliant with the most stringent international environmental requirements.

“The development of smart and sustainable power grids infrastructure is key to enable the energy transition, and submarine cables are an essential component. As global leader we are fully committed to technology innovation and we are happy to partner with a worldwide leader in the construction of vessels like Fincantieri and Vard to improve also our installation capabilities” stated Valerio Battista, CEO Prysmian Group.

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of Fincantieri, said: “The complexity of such a ship fully demonstrates Fincantieri’s ability to ensure its customers technological excellence, constant innovation and commitment to sustainability. Indeed, the highly demanding context in which the vessel will operate, both in terms of environment and hi-tech requirements, will enhance the sophisticated latest generation onboard systems. We are therefore particularly pleased to serve Prysmian – once again – with a successful project in a sector such as the cabling one, while supporting energy transition, which will attract investments in the near future”.