Prysmian Group has taken delivery of the Leonardo da Vinci cable-laying vessel.
The first job assigned to the vessel is the installation of the Viking Link submarine cable between the UK and Denmark.
Leonardo da Vinci (pictured) has arrived at the Arco Felice plant in order to load the cable to be installed.
Later in the year, the vessel will work on an interconnection between the Spanish islands Lanzarote and Fuerteventura and the Saint Nazaire offshore wind farm in France.
The ship was built by the Vard Group and has a length of approximately 170 metres and a breadth of about 34 metres.
It has deep water installation capabilities for depths of more than 3000 metres.
The DP3 vessel has a maximum speed above 16 knots and has two carousels of 7000 and 10,000 tonnes.
Two independent laying lines increase operative flexibility and there is bollard pull in excess of 180 tonnes, the company said.
Prysmian said the high cable load capacity and navigation speed of Leonardo da Vinci also allow the number of cable installation campaigns of any project to be significantly reduced.
The lower number of transits and the reduced transit time needed thus enable an overall decrease in CO2 emissions and a reduction in fuel consumption of approximately 40% compared to a traditional cable-laying vessel, it added.
Prysmian Group chief executive Valerio Battista said: “Leonardo da Vinci is the most efficient cable layer in the world and from now onwards it will support the Group’s long-term growth in the submarine cable installation business.
“It will be a game changer in strengthening our leadership in the interconnection and offshore wind farm markets.”
The official launching ceremony will take place by the second quarter of 2022.