Cableship Order in Offing for New Player

Having drafted the concept, the company is now collaborating with Norwegian consultancy Salt Ship Design on the development of the vessel’s basic design, while working towards selection of shipbuilding contractor.

Newbuild delivery is sought during the first half of 2025, whereupon the vessel would be assigned to the Morocco-UK Power Project promoted by Xlinks. The highly ambitious £16 billion (US$21.9bn) scheme would entail the undersea placement of four 3,800km high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) cables linking Britain with a wind and solar energy generation and battery storage facility in Morocco.

The HVDC cables would be manufactured at UK factories to be established by XLCC. HVDC offshore systems enable efficient long-distance transmission at high power levels, interconnecting regions and countries. XLCC’s HVDC cable production investment strategy is driven by ambitious UK national environmental targets, aiming for a 100% reliance on ‘clean’ energy for power needs by 2035.

This goal, already reflected in increasing offshore wind farm and interconnector developments, promises exponential growth in high-voltage cable demand. Planning applications are under way for XLCC production plants at Hunterston, on the Firth of Clyde, and Port Talbot, South Wales, from where the projected newbuild would load cable.

The design will shortly be released for tender to an identified shortlist of yards, with the aim of selecting the successful contender by the end of June this year. ‘Green’ credentials are an important feature of the specification being drawn up. A key requirement is design preparation for non-hydrocarbon powering while ensuring optimum vessel operational capability and continuity.

Recourse is being made to 3D engineering software for definition of steel structures and interior arrangement. Know-how of two UK companies long-established in the field, Gloucester-based MAATS Tech and Chelmsford-headquartered Global Marine, is contributing to studies into operational aspects of the cable handling arrangements. V Group has been appointed to provide technical services and newbuild construction support to XLCC.

XLCC’s overarching mission is one of delivering the connectivity required for renewable power to meet future global energy needs. Its remit therefore embraces cable laying, cable protection and repair, as well as the manufacture and supply of HVDC subsea extruded cable. The Xlinks programme will entail cable routing in waters skirting the coasts of Portugal, Spain and France, and across the western Channel to be joined with the British grid via two 1.8GW stations on the south Devon coast.