On 4 February 2016 the DP2 cable installation vessel Maersk Connector was handed over from Damen Shipyards Group to Maersk Supply Service. The vessel is going directly on a long-term charter for subsea services provider DeepOcean.
The on-time, on-budget delivery marks the successful cooperation between Damen, Maersk Supply Service and DeepOcean. Based on Damen’s DOC 8500 platform, the vessel has been customised to meet the challenges of reducing offshore renewables costs.
“We’ve already been awarded three UK and North Sea contracts for Maersk Connector, so we’re very satisfied,” reports DeepOcean Commercial Director Pierre Boyde. “The working relationship has been productive and Damen has delivered a state-of-the-art cable installation vessel. Maersk Connector is fine-tuned around DeepOcean’s 20 years’ experience of installing and trenching more than 1,000km of power cable and backed up with Maersk Supply Service’s long pedigree of superior marine operations.”
Owned and operated by Maersk Supply Service, the vessel is the latest addition to the 50-plus strong Maersk offshore support vessel fleet.
Built at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania, Maersk Connector is the second of a new generation of cable-laying vessels based on the proven Damen Offshore Carrier (DOC) platform. Developed as a flexible platform for both transport and installation work offshore, the DOC 8500 is 138m in length and has a beam of 27.5m.
