Jan De Nul is expanding its offshore energy fleet with two vessels designed to bury submarine cables in the seabed.
The company said one of the additions will be a new trenching support vessel equipped with a trencher subsea robot capable of burying cables up to five metres deep.
Jan De Nul added the vessel will be built at the CMHI shipyard in China to an Ulstein design.
The vessel will be equipped with the company’s Ultra-Low Emission vessel technology designed to filter up to 99% of nanoparticles from exhaust gases and reduce polluting substances.
Its engines will be able to run on biofuel and are prepared for future operation on methanol.
Jan De Nul will also convert its vessel Henry Darcy into a trenching support vessel equipped with a subsea robot specialised in burying cables in shallow waters.
The robot for the vessel has been ordered from partner Osbit.
The company now has four vessels under construction for the installation and protection of subsea cables and one vessel under conversion.
“With the Fleeming Jenkin and the William Thomson, we will soon expand our fleet with two XL vessels for the installation of subsea cables,” said Wouter Vermeersch, director subsea cables offshore energy at Jan De Nul.
“Investing in vessels that can protect those same cables is a logical next step.”