<![CDATA[The Waterline Journal: Vessel Technology]]>https://www.waterline-journal.com/s/vessel-technologyhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!luaH!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6a2d5253-a042-495e-9fb5-38bdb7202eb8_676x676.pngThe Waterline Journal: Vessel Technologyhttps://www.waterline-journal.com/s/vessel-technologySubstackWed, 15 Apr 2026 19:57:10 GMT<![CDATA[Kongsberg Maritime Wins Integrated Systems Package for One of the World's Largest Cable Lay Vessels]]>https://www.waterline-journal.com/p/kongsberg-maritime-wins-integratedhttps://www.waterline-journal.com/p/kongsberg-maritime-wins-integratedThu, 26 Feb 2026 20:30:52 GMT
Source: Kongsberg Maritime / Salt Design

The Vessel and Its Mission

Kongsberg Maritime has been selected to deliver a fully integrated equipment and technology package for a next-generation ultra-large cable lay vessel being constructed for LS Marine Solutions at Tersan Shipyard in Türkiye. When complete, the vessel will rank among the world’s largest cable layers — purpose-built to address the surging global demand for subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) and optical cable installation, a market being driven primarily by offshore wind farm development and long-distance interconnector projects.

The vessel’s specifications reflect that ambition: 148.4 metres in length, 31 metres in beam, a cable carrying capacity of 13,000 tonnes, and a total displacement of 18,800 tonnes. Construction at Tersan is expected to take approximately three years, with the vessel planned to enter commercial operation in 2028.

Kongsberg’s Integrated Package

Kongsberg Maritime’s scope of supply is extensive and fully integrated. It covers K-Pos dynamic positioning systems, integrated control and navigation systems, a battery hybrid DC electrical system, and all main propulsion and thruster units — with permanent magnet motors installed on all azimuth thrusters to enhance positioning accuracy and minimise energy consumption.

The battery hybrid DC power configuration is specifically designed to reduce the number of engines required during normal operations. A high-capacity shore connection — supported by the battery system and Kongsberg’s proprietary Energy Control System — enables zero-emission operations during port stays and cable loading activities, addressing two of the most energy-intensive phases of a cable layer’s working schedule.

Floating Wind and Remote Operations

The vessel’s design also supports mobilisation of Kongsberg Maritime’s innovative Remote Cable Pull-In systems for floating wind farms. This capability allows pull-in and hang-off operations for dynamic cables without personnel transfer or crane-based equipment handling — a significant operational and safety advantage as the industry moves toward more remote and complex floating wind installations.

For Kongsberg Maritime, the contract represents its fifth fully integrated system award for a cable lay vessel in the past twelve months. That pace of contracting reflects both the growing scale of subsea energy infrastructure investment and Kongsberg’s consolidating position as the integrator of choice for technically demanding special-purpose vessels.

The Waterline Journal Report

Five integrated cable layer awards in twelve months is not a coincidence — it is a market signal. The subsea cable installation sector is entering a period of sustained fleet expansion driven by offshore wind and intercontinental HVDC grids, and the window for shipyards and technology providers to establish themselves is now. Kongsberg’s approach — optimising CAPEX, OPEX, space, weight, and emissions simultaneously — is exactly the kind of systems thinking that complex vessels like this demand.

]]><![CDATA[Viking Energy Will Become the World's First Offshore Vessel to Run on Ammonia]]>https://www.waterline-journal.com/p/viking-energy-will-become-the-worldshttps://www.waterline-journal.com/p/viking-energy-will-become-the-worldsThu, 26 Feb 2026 18:09:56 GMT
Source: Breeze Ship Design

A Project Two Decades in the Making

The platform supply vessel Viking Energy has been operating continuously for Equinor since its delivery in 2003. For more than twenty years, the 95-metre vessel has quietly sustained offshore operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Now, that same vessel is about to write a new chapter: upon completion of an ambitious retrofit scheduled for autumn 2026, it will become the first offshore vessel in the world to operate on ammonia.

Norwegian offshore owner Eidesvik Offshore has contracted Halsnøy Dokk to carry out the conversion. Prefabrication of steel and piping systems will begin in spring 2026, with the full scope covering major structural modifications, a new ammonia dual-fuel engine, dedicated fuel tanks and fuel systems, and the safety integrations required to handle ammonia in live offshore conditions.

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The Technology Stack

At the heart of the conversion is Wärtsilä’s 25 dual-fuel engine, capable of running on both ammonia and marine gas oil — providing the operational flexibility essential for a vessel in active charter. Ship design and engineering is the responsibility of Breeze Ship Design, and the design package has already received a preliminary assessment from the Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA), clearing a critical regulatory hurdle ahead of construction.

The integrated system combines engine technology, ammonia fuel supply, and safety systems into a single cohesive package. Once completed, the vessel has the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70% or more compared to conventional marine gas oil operations.

EU Funding, Industry Consortium

The retrofit is part of the EU-funded Apollo project, led by Maritime CleanTech, which is specifically designed to address the technical, procedural, and regulatory barriers facing ammonia as a maritime fuel. Equinor is providing direct financial support for the conversion. The wider consortium includes DEME Group, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and Greece’s National Centre for Scientific Research ‘Demokritos’.

Critically, this is not a controlled laboratory test or a pilot on a purpose-built newbuild. It is the first project in the offshore industry to test ammonia as a propulsion fuel on a vessel in normal commercial operation — a distinction that matters enormously for the technology’s path to broader adoption.

The Waterline Journal Report

The Viking Energy conversion is the most credible proof-of-concept ammonia has received in the offshore sector to date. It is one thing to run a vessel on ammonia in controlled conditions; it is another to do so while under contract to one of Europe’s largest oil and gas operators. If this works as designed, the implications for fleet decarbonisation on the NCS — and beyond — will be hard to ignore.

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