IT International Telecom Platform Supplier Re-enters Service as Cable-Lay Vessel

Norwegian shipbuilder Vard has completed conversion work on a platform supply vessel (PSV) to enable it to perform cable-laying duties for Nova Scotia-based IT International Telecom Marine.

Built at Vard Brattvaag in Norway and delivered to Volstad Maritime in 2008 as the PSV Volstad Princess, the vessel has changed ownership several times. SD Standard Drilling acquired the ship in 2017, before it was sold to IT in 2021 and renamed IT Infinity.

The vessel returned to Vard earlier this year for an extensive conversion, preparing it for its new role as a highly specialised cable-laying vessel.

The conversion works were carried out at Vard Brattvaag in close collaboration with a network of specialists and Vard's suppliers. Vard said the works included the addition of new accommodation for 32 people and required approximately 550 tonnes of steel, all sourced and processed in Norway.

The vessel's electrical systems were also upgraded. Vard Electro installed new switchboards and cabling and incorporated upgrades to the existing systems. Vard Interiors meanwhile supplied a new HVAC system.

Other newly installed features include a 60-tonne A-frame, a 25-tonne cable drum engine, a 20-tonne linear cable engine, a cable plough system, and space for a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The vessel's existing station keeping system was also upgraded to a fully operational class-approved DP2 system.

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