Orange Receives New Cable Laying and Repair Vessel for Offshore Wind Projects

French telecommunications corporation Orange has received its new cable laying and repair vessel (CLRV) designed for the maintenance of offshore wind project cables. The vessel, named Sophie Germain after the French mathematician and philosopher, is currently en route from Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard to France. It is expected to arrive at Orange Marine’s base in La Seyne sur Mer by mid-August, replacing the Raymond Croze vessel that was launched in 1983.

The CLRV was designed by Norway’s VARD and is of the VARD 9 03 design, specifically for maintaining both fiber-optic telecommunication cables and inter-array power cables used in offshore wind farms. It is 100 meters long, with a beam of 18.8 meters and a deadweight capacity of 1,800 DWT. The vessel can achieve a speed of 14.5 knots and has accommodation facilities for 76 persons. It features three cable tanks for carrying fiber optic and power cables, one of which is equipped with a carousel system.

This delivery marks Colombo Dockyard’s first-ever CLRV to be sent to the European market from Sri Lanka. Orange aims to target the offshore wind sector with this new vessel, providing maintenance services for submarine cables, including inter-array cables used in offshore wind farms. The CEO of Orange Marine, Didier Dillard, stated that the new vessel will be a high-performance and environmentally friendly tool that will ensure high-quality services for customers in the submarine telecommunications and offshore wind farm industries for decades to come.