Hull Assembly Starts for Asso.subsea’s New Cable Layer

China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) has held the keel laying ceremony for Asso.subsea’s new cable-laying vessel (CLV), marking the start of the vessel’s assembly.

The keel-laying ceremony was held on 9 April at CMHI’s shipyard on Mazhou Island, Shenzhen, some five months after the start of construction of the CLV Althea, announced on 5 November 2025.

Asso.subsea’s Executive Director of Marine Technology, Ioannis Togias, said: “As we mark the keel laying of Althea, we take a decisive step forward in strengthening our fleet and technical capabilities. This vessel reflects our long-term vision to meet the evolving demands of the offshore energy market with reliability and precision.”

Althea will have a 12,000-tonne cable capacity in one, two, or three carousel divisions, designed for long sections and bundled cable laying. It will be equipped with a hybrid diesel and battery power generation plant, methanol-ready engines capable of running on bio-fuels and complying with IMO Tier III NOx emission standards, cold ironing capabilities and a number of energy-saving features.

Delivery is expected next year. Once delivered, the vessel will join Ariadne and Atalanti in Asso.subsea’s cable-laying fleet.

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