Mystery buyer orders cable layer at Vard

Image: Vard

With offshore wind farm development creating the need to lay a lot of cable, demand for cable layers can only be expected to grow. One beneficiary of this is Fincantieri’s Norwegian subsidiary Vard. Today, came news that it has signed a contract worth EUR 200 million to EUR 250 million (about $218 million to $272 million) to build a cable laying vessel for a mystery buyer described only as an “undisclosed international customer.”

The order comes less than one week after Vard’s announcement of its win of a contract worth more than $200 million to design and construct a hybrid-powered cable-laying and construction vessel for Japan’s Toyo Construction (see earlier story).

While the Toyo vessel will be built to a Vard design, the ship ordered by the mystery buyer will be designed by Norway’s Salt Ship Design AS.

As with the Toyo cable layer, the hull of this latest vessel will be built at Vard’s Tulcea, Romania, shipyard with oufitting being performed at one Vard’s Norwegian yards. Delivery is set for fourth quarter 2026