6 June 2017
On 25 May at 11.10 CET Maersk Connector successfully performed her first engineered grounding at Walney out of Heysham in the West of England. This operation was the first ever for Maersk Connector and the first in Maersk Supply Service’s history.
After several months of planning, Maersk Connector effectively carried out her most exclusive on-shore cable-laying capability together with client DeepOcean. The vessel flawlessly went in with the high tide and grounded again with the low tide, using strategic anchor lines to hold position during the operation. Over the course of three days the Maersk Supply Service Captain and crew successfully grounded Maersk Connector five times to connect a subsea cable line to onshore facilities.
“Maersk Connector’s special features have been developed with the aim of adding value to the client’s operation, and it is very rewarding for us as a vessel owner to have Maersk Connector as part of our 40-plus strong fleet and offer her highly exclusive cable-laying capabilities to DeepOcean.” -MSS COO Claus Bachmann
Maersk Connector is one of few cable-laying vessels in the industry able to perform an engineered grounding. The vessel is purpose-built to be highly adaptable and flexible and delivers more efficient, cost-effective cable installation, with the capability of grounding out on the seabed with its seven points mooring system. This eliminates the cost of a separate shallow water cable lay vessel and minimizes the number of cable joints required for an operation.
Maersk Connector vessel features
- Dual Basket Carousel with ability to load and lay two cables simultaneously
- Includes DP2 and seven point mooring system
- Shallow water operations with ability to operate to ground fully loaded for shore applications
- Work class ROVs
- 50t AHC subsea crane with double fall 100t capacity
About Maersk Supply Service
Maersk Supply Service provides marine services and integrated solutions to the energy sector worldwide. Maersk Supply Service is the market leader in deep-water services such as anchor handling in ultra-deep water, mooring installations, rig moves and transport of equipment to drilling rigs and production units. Maersk Supply Service employs an international staff of around 1100 offshore and 200 onshore people. Headquartered in Lyngby, Denmark, Maersk Supply Service is represented globally with offices in Aberdeen, St. John’s, Rio de Janeiro, Lagos, Luanda, Singapore and Perth. Maersk Supply Service is a part of the stand-alone Energy division of A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S. A.P. Møller – Maersk A/S employs roughly 88.000 employees across operations in 130 countries.