Nexans, a global leader in energy transition infrastructure, and Crowley Wind Services, a U.S. maritime and logistics pioneer, announce a landmark partnership to develop and operate the first Jones Act-compliant cable lay barge dedicated to subsea transmission installations for offshore wind, telecommunications, and industrial projects. This strategic collaboration will underscores both companies’ commitment to providing solutions for the expansion of U.S. energy sources and other industrial uses that require underwater cabling.
The 300-foot barge, built in Louisiana and tested in the Gulf of America to Nexans specifications, will be crewed by American mariners. The vessel will play a critical role in laying and burying the subsea cables needed to deliver energy from offshore to the grid onshore. The barge boasts a dynamic positioning system and a multiple-anchors positioning system, which allow for accurate cable placement, even in challenging conditions.
The barge also carries a 3,500-ton capacity carousel to lay and bury subsea cable using burial tools such as a vertical injector, a jet sled, or a jetting ROV, with the potential to be upgraded to 7,000 tons with two carousels for bundle cable lay and burial. The barge is currently supporting Equinor’s Empire Wind offshore wind farm for New York and can be configured to lay or repair cable for a multitude of other subsea applications.
Pascal Radue, EVP of Nexans‘ PWR-Transmission Business Group, highlights the significance of the partnership: “This barge will support our existing fleet of cable laying vessels, the Nexans CLV Aurora, Nexans C/S Skagerrak, and Nexans CLV Electra, and we are pleased to be working with Crowley on developing the capability to lay nearshore subsea cable in the US.”
“The cable lay barge will provide a productive supply chain solution for offshore energy, telecommunications and other sectors ,” says Graham Tyson, vice president of operations, Crowley Wind Services. “Coupled with our U.S. maritime fleet and mariners providing feedering services and other logistics and project management capabilities, we could not be better equipped to serve the needs of industries seeking subsea cable solutions.
