The offshore service provider Megamas Resources has commissioned the Norwegian company Ulstein Design & Solutions with the design of a cable-laying vessel.
The ship will be built at the Lloyd shipyard in Bremerhaven. The cooperation was announced at Nor-Shipping in Oslo, after the newbuilding order for Lloyd Werft had only recently been announced.
“The agreement marks an important milestone following the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Megamas and Lloyd Werft in May and paves the way for the potential construction of a state-of-the-art multipurpose cable-laying vessel,” said Captain Tiew Sien Kheng, Managing Partner of Megamas. “Today’s agreement is the first formal step towards the realization of this project. Ulstein Design & Solutions, together with Lloyd Werft, will contribute its extensive expertise to deliver a highly specialized vessel. The conceptual work started in autumn 2023 and focused on the ‘Ulstein SX228’ – a next generation fiber optic cable laying vessel.”
“Ulstein SX228” to exceed standards
The ship has been developed to meet the highest standards in terms of efficiency and sustainability. The “Ulstein SX228” has a weight of 8,200 tons and a cable capacity of 5,500 tons. The 121.7 m long and 23 m wide ship has been specially optimized for laying fibre optic cables and will also be prepared for future work. This includes a lower deck carousel integrated into the cable tanks. Other features include an ROV hangar for the cable trencher, a 50-ton A-frame and a bollard pull capacity of up to 120 tons for underwater ploughs.
The project addresses the “global shortage of specialized offshore vessels,” said Kheng. “These vessels will play a key role in supporting the renewable energy and subsea telecommunications industries.” The design complies with DNV’s “Clean (Design)” and “Recyclabe” classifications, underlining Megamas’ commitment to sustainable shipbuilding. The first ship of this type is due to be delivered by the end of 2027.
