The new vessel, scheduled to start commercial operation in early 2025, is identical to the Leonardo da Vinci, which was designed with input from Prysmian’s technicians and engineers incorporating their thirty-year experience starting with the platform design of the Giulio Verne, followed by the newer Cable Enterprise, Ulisse, Barbarossa I, and culminating with the cutting-edge Leonardo da Vinci christened in 2022.
Both the new ship and the Leonardo da Vinci are the only installation vessels in the world with 2 rotating platforms of 7,000 and 10,000 tons, bringing the total capacity up to 14,000 tons to ensure the highest carousel capacity in the market. Moreover, they both have a 100-ton capstan to allow for extreme deep-water installation of the heavy cables needed for energy transition.
One major improvement has been made to the new vessel compared to the Leonardo da Vinci: Prysmian has doubled her hybrid propulsion battery capacity to 3.0 MW in order to reduce emissions and consumption, and improve the overall eco-friendliness of the new ship.
By increasing its installation fleet to six vessels, Prysmian will maintain its market share in the face of stronger cables demand in new markets such as the United States, where it is building a new cables factory at Brayton Point, Massachusetts.