Nexans' cable-lay vessel newbuilds

The shipbuilding construction of Nexans Electra is approaching its final phase in the dock, before the comprehensive work continues quayside ahead of sea trials in spring 2026. How do you organise a staff of hundreds of workers, subcontractors and suppliers over several months to deliver the project on time and within budget? Join project manager Runar Toftesund at Ulstein Verft for a look behind the scenes.

The hull of the state-of-the-art DP3 cable-laying vessel Nexans Electra arrived at Ulstein Verft on 5 July 2025. This marks the commencement of the outfitting and completion phase of the vessel. Upon completion in 2026, she will feature a split turntable on deck capable of holding up to 10,000 tonnes of cable, an under-deck turntable with a 3,500-tonne cable capacity, and a fibre optic tank with a 450-tonne capacity.

Nexans' next state-of-the-art cable installation, the 'Nexans Electra' is another step closer to realisation. The grand block ceremony was celebrated on 10 September 2024 at CRIST, Poland. The vessel will be finalised at Ulstein Verft, Norway.

On 4 April 2024, the keel laying ceremony took place for the DP3 cable laying vessel (CLV) Nexans Electra. This vessel will transport and lay various types of subsea cables, including cable bundles, as well as handle recovery and repair operations for Nexans Marine Operations AS in Norway.

On 19 January 2024, on the day four months after signing the shipbuilding contract, Nexans Marine Operations AS and Ulstein Verft could celebrate the start of the construction of Nexans’ next cable laying vessel. Attending the steel cutting ceremony at the Crist hull yard were representatives from Nexans, Ulstein Verft, DNV and Crist.

On 19 September 2023, Nexans Marine Operations AS and Ulstein Verft entered into a contract on the construction of a large DP3 cable laying vessel.

On-time delivery is often underestimated when evaluating vessel newbuilding projects. Delayed deliveries can represent an additional cost that can be as high as the original, newbuilt price of the vessel. The Norway-based shipyard, Ulstein Verft, is reputed for its precise deliveries. What do they do to achieve this?

Both the newbuilds at Ulstein Verft are nominees for the ‘Ship of the Year 2021’ Award; the polar vessel 'National Geographic Resolution' and the cable-laying vessel 'Nexans Aurora'. The ‘Ship of the Year’ is awarded by the maritime magazine Skipsrevyen and the winner will be announced in August.

The DP3 Cable Laying Vessel, Nexans Aurora’, was named at Ulstein Verft on 8 June 2021. The lady sponsor is Mrs Anne Lise Aukner, former Managing Director of Nexans Norway.

The final milestone of the Aurora construction adventure was reached today, on 31 May 2021, when the DP3 Cable Lay Vessel ‘Nexans Aurora’, the state-of-the-art flagship of the Nexans fleet, was delivered from Ulstein Verft.

Snow-covered mountain tops, green hillsides and a bright sun on a blue sky make a perfect frame for the lady in red, the CLV vessel ‘Nexans Aurora’, on her sea trial. A sunny mood also characterizes the atmosphere on board the vessel.

In any other year, the shipyard Ulstein Verft is happy to welcome student groups, but Covid-19 set an abrupt halt to group visits. However, the program manager of the Ship Design study at NTNU Ålesund recently came up with a solution.

The construction project of the cable lay vessel 'Nexans Aurora' has recently reached a new milestone, as the installation of the MAATS Tech equipment package including the carousel, loading arms, access tower and control cabin have now been completed.

“Quality at all levels”, says Per Jarle Ytrebø at Ulstein Elektro Installasjon when explaining why they are well positioned with the setup of the IAS system (Integrated Automation System) on the cable lay vessel Nexans Aurora, currently under construction at Ulstein Verft.

12 February 2021: During the past few days of the shipbuilding project of the CLV Nexans Aurora, the outer part of the carousel has been mounted. Currently we are installing the fairings.

On 29 January 2021, the large, 150-tonne, A-frame for the DP3 cable laying vessel ‘Nexans Aurora’, under construction at Ulstein Verft, was lifted into position.

During the time span of 2.5 days and after 272 heaves, the carousel equipment for the cable lay vessel Nexans Aurora has been offloaded at Ulstein Verft.

On 8 November 2020, Nexans’ next-generation Cable Laying Vessel, the ‘Nexans Aurora’ was launched at Ulstein Verft. The 149.9 m long and 31 m wide vessel will be working in the offshore renewables market, installing subsea cables including cables connecting offshore wind farms to the grid and interconnector systems.

The installation of the state of the art, MAATS cable lay equipment on board the CLV vessel Nexans Aurora has now commenced at the Ulstein Verft shipyard.

In September 2020, the three azimuth propulsion thrusters were installed in the cable-laying vessel 'Nexans Aurora', which is under construction at Ulstein Verft. Each thruster has an effect of 3,200 kW and a diameter of 2,900 mm.

The construction of the next-generation cable laying vessel, the 'Nexans Aurora', is well underway at Ulstein Verft. In such a complex newbuild project, several tasks are carried out at the same time. On 10 September 2020, the cable capstan was installed during a short break in the ongoing paint process.

The main equipment for the CLV vessel 'Nexans Aurora' is currently being lifted on board the vessel and mounted. The engine on these photos is the third of six main engines.

During some hectic days, a total of 197 heaves of topside equipment for the cable laying ship Nexans Aurora have been offloaded at Ulstein Verft. The largest single heave was the cable capstan with a net weight of 176 tonnes.

In June 2018, a shipbuilding agreement was signed between Nexans and Ulstein on a large, DP3, cable laying vessel (CLV) to support markets such as the offshore wind industry. The construction project now enters a new phase, as the outfitting work at Ulstein Verft is about to start.

All the grand blocks for the Cable Laying Vessel (CLV) ‘Nexans Aurora’ have now been assembled at the hull yard, CRIST. Work tasks such as some steel work, outfitting and paint work now need to be carried out before the hull can be towed to Ulstein Verft, Norway, for finalising.

On 15 October 2019, Nexans hosted the grand block ceremony for their new cable installation vessel, the ‘Nexans Aurora’. The vessel will be completed at Ulstein Verft in Norway.

The keel laying ceremony of the DP3 cable laying vessel 'CLV Nexans Aurora' was held on 24 April 2019. The vessel is destined for the installation of subsea cables by Nexans, a global actor in cabling systems and services.

The first major milestone in the construction of Nexans’ new DP3 cable laying vessel, the C/S Aurora, was passed Monday 18 February 2019 with the cutting of the first steel.

Nexans Subsea Operations has signed a shipbuilding contract with Ulstein Verft on the construction of a large, DP3 cable laying vessel.