General – Subsea Cable Installation
DEME is expanding its fleet with a new Offshore Construction Vessel (OCV) to strengthen its subsea cable installation capabilities and support the growing global offshore wind market.
Designed for versatility, the 123-meter vessel will handle trenching, burial, and cable-laying operations, complementing DEME’s existing installation ships Living Stone and Viking Neptun.
The OCV is based on the advanced Norwegian SALT 310 design and will feature:
- A DP2 dynamic positioning system
- A 150-ton active heave-compensated offshore crane
- A hangar for two Work Class ROVs
- A hybrid 1,000-kWh battery system
- Methanol-ready propulsion for future fuel flexibility
Below deck, the vessel will be equipped with two 2,500-ton cable carousels, allowing fast deployment and smooth transitions between trenching, burial, and cable-laying tasks. It will also accommodate up to 123 crew and specialists.
Trenching and burial are critical for protecting subsea cables beneath the seabed. From the OCV, an ROV trencher can be launched to perform these operations in coordination with DEME’s broader installation fleet.
The vessel will be built by PaxOcean at the Zhoushan shipyard in China, with delivery scheduled for 2028.
Hugo Bouvy, Managing Director Offshore Energy at DEME, said: “With over 5,000 km of subsea cables installed across wind farms in Europe and the USA DEME has built a strong track record of delivering offshore projects efficiently and reliably. This new OCV further strengthens our cable installation capabilities and expands our versatile fleet of vessels and solutions.”
