Poland’s Tele-Fonika Kable and ARP Collaborate on Cable Laying Vessel for Offshore Wind Farms

Poland’s Tele-Fonika Kable (TFK) and the Industrial Development Agency (ARP) have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on the construction of a cable laying vessel (CLV) for the installation and maintenance of subsea cables in offshore wind farms, mainly in the Baltic Sea.

On January 28, the two companies signed a letter of intent to collaborate on offshore wind projects in the Polish exclusive economic zone in the Baltic Sea, with plans to expand to foreign projects at a later stage.

The plans also include the development of a support vessel to facilitate servicing and operational activities in the Baltic Sea, as well as in other regions such as the North Sea.

The cooperation will be formalized through the creation of a new entity tasked with overseeing the development of the CLV.

The investment will prioritize the use of local resources and local content, enhancing the role of Polish shipyards and domestic businesses in the global supply chain, according to TFK.

“Considering the rapid increase in the need for the construction of submarine installations and the lack of vessels for laying and repairing submarine cables, both on the domestic and global market, the construction of a Cable Laying Vessel is a much-needed investment,” said Jakub Dulski, Vice President of the Management Board of ARP.

“The use of domestic competencies is extremely important in the aspect of broadly understood energy and infrastructure security. Such vessels can be used to lay and repair both offshore wind farm cables and power, telecommunications, or fibre optic cables.”

In terms of other news coming from TFK, the company recently delivered the first batches of onshore cables for Poland’s Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms, which are being jointly developed by Equinor and Polenergia.