First-of-its-Kind, Jones Act Cable Lay Barge Operated by Nexans and Crowley

The growth of the U.S. offshore wind energy, telecommunications, and other sectors continues to contribute to the growth of U.S. shipping. Cable manufacturer Nexans and Crowley Wind Services announced a new partnership that will develop and operate a Jones Act-compliant cable lay barge.

The 300-foot, U.S.-flagged barge will be built in Louisiana and tested in the U.S. Gulf to Nexans specifications. Once completed, it will be crewed with U.S. mariners under Crowley’s operation. It is designed to support the installation of subsea transmission lines necessary for offshore wind energy, telecommunications, and other major industrial applications.

"This barge will support our existing fleet of cable laying vessels, the Nexans CLV Aurora, Nexans C/S Skagerrak, and Nexans CLV Electra, and we are pleased to be working with Crowley on developing the capability to lay nearshore subsea cable in the U.S.," said Pascal Radue, executive vice president of Nexans' PWR-Transmission Business Group, highlighting the significance of the partnership.

Among its features, the barge will be the first to have vertical injectors along with a dynamic positioning system and a multiple-anchor positioning system, which allow for accurate and efficient cable placement, even in challenging conditions. The barge has a 3,500-ton capacity carousel to lay and bury subsea cable using burial tools such as a vertical injector, a jet sled, or a jetting ROV, with the potential to be upgraded to 7,000 tons with two carousels for bundle cable lay and burial.

According to the companies, it will play a critical role in laying and burying the subsea cables needed to deliver energy from offshore to the grid onshore. It will provide solutions for the expansion of U.S. energy sources and other industrial uses that require underwater cabling.

The barge is positioned to support Equinor’s Empire Wind offshore wind farm for New York. It can also be configured to lay or repair cable for a multitude of other subsea applications.

“The cable lay barge will provide a productive supply chain solution for offshore energy, telecommunications, and other sectors,” said Graham Tyson, vice president of operations, Crowley Wind Services. “Coupled with our U.S. maritime fleet and mariners providing feedering services and other logistics and project management capabilities, we could not be better equipped to serve the needs of industries seeking subsea cable solutions.”

Crowley, a privately held, U.S.-owned and -operated maritime, energy, and logistics solutions company, formed Wind Services in 2023 as a joint venture with Morgan Stanley Investment Management. It is leading the redevelopment of the port in Salem, Massachusetts and it also ordered a Service Operations Vessel (SOV), which is bing built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and in partnership with ESVAGT. The vessel is due to go into service in 2026 to support Siemens Gamesa’s service operations on the Dominion Energy Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.