Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., Ltd. (XMXYG SOE) announced on April 22, that it has signed a contract for the construction of one 16,000 DWT cable laying vessel with Zhongtian Technology (ZTT) Group’s Shanghai Yuanwei Construction Engineering Co.
The vessel is 139.8 meters long and 38 meters wide and was developed by Marine Design and Research Institute of China (MARIC). It can sail in unlimited navigation areas and is currently the largest self-propelled, pure electric-driven cable-laying vessel in China.
The vessel can operate in a maximum water depth of 200 meters, with a maximum cable carrying capacity of 16,000 tons in a single voyage. Equipped with helicopter platforms, large coaxial turntable, dual exit channels and other high-end facilities, the vessel can lay two cables at the same time, perform single hook operations in deep waters and carry out cross-border construction.
ZTT said that the amount of cable carried by this 16,000 DWT cable laying vessel will break the domestic record. After it is put into use, it will lay more than 1,000 kilometers of deep-sea submarine cables per year, which can effectively drive the growth of Nantong’s cable manufacturing, wind power equipment and other industries.
It is reported that after the ship is put into use, it will break the bottleneck of laying deep-sea submarine cables (over 100 kilometers), provide core equipment support for Nantong’s development towards the sea and the layout of new marine infrastructure such as offshore wind power and energy islands, and effectively promote the upgrading of industries such as equipment manufacturing and clean energy.
It is worth mentioning that on April 21, XMXYG SOE’s parent company, Xiamen Xiangyu, released its 2024 annual report. The annual report disclosed that the previously acquired Jiangsu Hongqiang marine Heavy Industry will resume work and production in mid-2025, and it is expected to increase shipbuilding capacity by 40% to 50%.