Jan De Nul launches world’s largest cable-laying vessel
In Belgium, Jan De Nul has launched the William Thomson, one of two identical subsea cable-laying vessels and the largest of their kind, with a cable-carrying capacity of 28,000 tonnes and the ability to lay cables at depths of up to 4,000 meters.
The vessel’s engines are capable of running on green methanol and biofuel, and a hybrid power plant combining generators with a 2.5 megawatt-hour battery helps reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
The William Thomson and its sister ship Fleeming Jenkin, launched in October 2025, can carry longer cables in a single piece than any competitor, reducing return trips to port. Both vessels were designed entirely in-house.
Their first assignment is TenneT’s 2 gigawatt offshore wind grid connection program in the Netherlands and Germany, for which the two ships will install more than 2,800 kilometers of high-voltage cable. The William Thomson is expected to be operational in the first half of 2027.
Category: Sustainable Marine Fuels
