Jan De Nul Group Orders Second XL Cable-Laying Vessel to Bolster Renewable Energy Transition

Jan De Nul Group announced a major expansion to their fleet with the order of an additional XL cable-laying vessel. This move is another significant investment in the transition to renewable energy, demonstrating the company’s ongoing commitment to the sector.

The new vessel will be the fifth in Jan De Nul Group’s cable-laying fleet and is slated for delivery in 2026. It will be identical to the Fleeming Jenkin, another XL cable layer under construction at CMHI Haimen shipyard in China. The vessel, which is also scheduled for delivery in 2026, has already been scheduled for its first projects, indicating the strong demand for the specialized assets.

Over the past decade, the company has installed 2,500 kilometers of submarine cables across 25 countries, including a notable project that connected Crete to mainland Greece, eliminating the island’s reliance on diesel generators for power.

Among other high-profile projects, Jan De Nul Group installed 1,000 kilometers of cables to link two islands off the coast of Abu Dhabi to the mainland. They are currently working on the Greenlink interconnector, a project that connects the electricity grids of Ireland and Wales. An additional 2,500 kilometers of cable routes are already booked for the coming years, further emphasizing the need for this new XL cable-laying vessel.

“With this second XL cable-laying vessel, we continue to reinforce our pioneering role [in renewable energy]. Both vessels combine all the cable installation expertise we have built up over the past decade. The result are vessels that operate very efficiently and have a much smaller carbon footprint,” said Jan Van de Velde, Director New Building at Jan De Nul Group.

World’s Largest and Most Advanced Cable-Layers

The new 215-meter vessels, capable of transporting 28,000 tonnes of cables, will be the world’s largest capacity cable-laying vessels. With advanced technology, they can lay cables in both shallow and ultra-deep waters up to 3,000 metrers and handle cable tensions of up to 150 tonnes.

The vessels are equipped with Ultra-Low Emission vessel technology, which removes up to 99% of nanoparticles from emissions, reducing exhaust gas pollutants and meeting strict European emission standards. A hybrid power plant on board also reduces CO2 emissions and optimizes fuel usage. The vessels can be powered by biofuel and green methanol, further reducing CO2 emissions.

Both the design, as well as all cable handling equipment has been developed and designed by Jan De Nul’s in-house specialists,” said Wouter Vermeersch, Offshore Cables Department at Jan De Nul Group. “At the time of ordering our cable-laying vessel Isaac Newton back in 2013, we changed the power cable installation market by introducing a vessel with higher carrying capacities than available on the market at that time. Yet, 10 years later we continue our pioneering entrepreneurship with the world’s most advanced cable-laying vessels, including an unrivalled carrying capacity of 28,000 tonnes, the capability to install up to four cables at once and installation equipment to lay power cables in ultra-deep waters of up to 3,000 metres.”

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