Conversion gives new lease of life for CC Pacifique

Converting a cable layer from a barge is a significant undertaking but for our V.Delta team specialized in Project management for conversion, refurbishment and energy conservation, it’s all in a day’s work.

The vessel, formerly known as CC Pacifique served her time for owners Coastal Carriers N.V. and was decommissioned in December 2015.

Prior to commencing the conversion, V.Delta’s expert engineering team assisted new owners - Prysmian Group - to select PaxOcean shipyard in Singapore and procure the equipment required for the conversion. “We started working on this back in October 2015,” explains V.Group’s technical director Davide Lajolo. “This,” he adds, “included building the technical specification for Yard bidding and assisting awarding of the contract.”

The conversion of the vessel included:

• Eight point positional mooring system comprising of winches and fairleads with a mooring control system
• An accommodation block for 57 people incorporating a power generation room as well as a control room
• A raised deck to satisfy minimum bow height requirements
• Cable handling equipment to transport and load 7,000 tonnes of cable in a carousel
• A deck crane and a store crane.

“Our onsite team was in place following approval of the drawings and detailed engineering requirements allowing the actual conversion to start in January this year,” says Davide. “Their role was to monitor the Yard progress in the conversion, which includes controlling costs, managing risks, inspecting construction works and assuring the client of technical execution.”

While the timeframe was very tight, Davide was very pleased with the end result: “The works completed on time, on schedule and on budget and it was a proud moment for us all when the newly named Ulisse (as named by her new owners) was launched into the water at the beginning of May.