Vard Braila in Romania recently laid the keel of a new cable laying vessel ordered by Danish cable installation specialist NKT.
NKT said the name NKT Eleonora had been selected since it meant "shining light." It was also chosen to honour Danish-born Ulrika Eleonora, who reigned as Queen of Sweden and then Queen Consort between 1718 and 1741.
Upon completion, the vessel will have a length of 176 metres, a beam of 32 metres, dual-fuel engines that can run on either methanol or diesel/HVO.
The vessel will be equipped with three turntables and will have a power cable-laying capacity of 23,000 tonnes. It will also host a range of subsea tooling for precise installation and service of offshore cables.
Design work on NKT Eleonora will be provided by Salt Ship Design of Norway. The vessel will be constructed in parallel with NKT expanding its site in Karlskrona with a new high-voltage offshore cable factory. Both assets are scheduled to be operational from 2027.