China’s First Long-Range Heavy Subsea Cable Transport Barge Completes Inaugural Mission

China’s first dedicated long-range heavy subsea cable transport barge has completed its inaugural mission at an offshore wind project and will undergo maintenance before embarking on a new mission.

Chinese power cable specialist Orient Cable launched the barge named Dongfang Haigong 07 (DFHG 07) in October 2023.

Designed to transport various types of subsea cables, including those for offshore wind and interconnection projects, the cable barge features two 9,000t turntables on deck, capable of holding up to 18,000t of cable. It is 42 meters wide and 128 meters long.

Orient Cable reported about a week ago that DFHG 07 had completed its inaugural mission on the Hollandse Kust West Beta (HkWB) project in the Netherlands, after which it arrived at the NBO Digital Factory quay.

Following a scheduled layup and maintenance, the barge is set to soon embark on a new mission to transport subsea cables for projects in the UK.

The HkWB platform is one of two that will connect the wind farms from the Hollandse Kust West area in the North Sea to the grid on land, the other being Hollandse Kust West Alpha.

TenneT awarded a consortium of Orient Cable and Boskalis with a contract in 2022 for the HkWB export cable, which will connect the 700 MW offshore platform to TenneT’s onshore grid in the Netherlands.

The contract covered the supply and installation of two 65-kilometer-long 220 kV export cables and a 9-kilometre-long 66 kV interconnector cable between the Hollandse Kust West Alpha and Hollandse Kust West Beta offshore substations.