Danish OSV operator and subsea specialist NCT Offshore has taken delivery of a new cable-laying vessel (CLV), Freja, which will assist its activities in the offshore renewable energy sector.
Operating from her homeport of Klintebjerg, Freja measures approximately 95m in length and 21.5m in breadth and was constructed by Norwegian shipbuilder Vard. Based on the specs of the Vard 9 01 class, the vessel has been designed and equipped for subsea cable-laying operations, featuring carousels with the combined capacity for 4,500tonnes of cables, in addition to DP2 positioning and seakeeping systems.
Freja is fitted with two main cable tanks, a tethered ROV hangar and single-cabin accommodation for 60 persons. Seaonics provided the CLV’s walk-to-work (W2W) gangway system, which, Vard tells The Naval Architect, is designed for trolley operators conveying loads up to 650kg, and features a minimum inner width of 1.2m. The newbuild has also been prepared for a large A-frame.
Freja runs on hybrid diesel-electric power, incorporating a complete SeaQ power and control package that includes a 1,790kW battery energy storage system complete with switchboards and a shore connection. The ship’s thrusters package, supplied by Kongsberg, includes: twin 1,200kW TT2650 DPN fixed-pitch tunnel thrusters, fore; a TCNS075-M-170 retractable azimuth thruster, rated 880kW; and two 2,200kW US 255 P30 fixed-pitch azimuth thrusters, aft. Overall, the vessel has a bollard pull exceeding 60tonnes and a maximum transit speed of more than 14knots.
The hull was constructed at Vard Shipyards Romania, in Tulcea, with outfitting and systems commissioning taking place at Vard Langsten, Norway. Vard says: “In less than 18 months since the first steel was cut, the vessel has been assembled, outfitted and commissioned, and is ready to commence her maiden voyage towards Denmark where she will be further fitted and tested, including the remaining cable lay equipment, subsea package and W2W gangway system.”
