Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) has been given approval in principle from the Japanese classification society ClassNK for the design of a new cable-laying vessel.
According to NYK, the vessel is suitable for the construction of a long-distance subsea direct current transmission network in Japan.
Since certain locations for wind-power generation in Japan, such as Hokkaido, are far from areas of major electricity demand, developing a power transmission network is crucial to increase the amount of electricity generated in the future. One of the solutions to the issue is creating a long-distance subsea DC transmission network using cable-laying vessels.
As part of a four-company consortium with Sumitomo Electric Industries, Furukawa Electric, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, NYK has been a participant in the projects subsidised by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) which are focused on the cable-laying and the development of new cable-laying vessels.
NYK was subcontracted by Sumitomo Electric in 2022 to conduct the initial conceptual design of a self-propelled cable-laying vessel suitable for the NEDO subsidy program while the AiP was achieved with the help of Furukawa Electric. NYK will now proceed with the detailed vessel design and aim to obtain basic design approval from ClassNK.
