Wedoany.com Report-Dec.21, Greek offshore contractor Asso.subsea has been awarded extensive cable installation and protection contracts by France's Nexans for three of TenneT's 2GW offshore transmission projects in the German North Sea. The scope covers the BalWin3, LanWin2, and LanWin4 developments, with offshore activities planned from 2027 to 2031.
The multi-year assignment involves burying more than 650 kilometers of offshore cables and laying and burying over 60 kilometers in nearshore areas. Central to the operations will be the cable-laying vessel Atalanti, currently being modified with an adapted turntable to accommodate Nexans' four-cable bundle design, consisting of two 525 kV HVDC export cables, one metallic return line, and a fibre-optic cable.
Asso.subsea will deploy its trenching support vessels, including the newbuild Avra, scheduled to enter service in early 2028. Burial operations will utilize jetting and mechanical trenching with the AssoTrencher IV and AssoJet III systems, supported by comprehensive as-laid and as-buried surveys.
Nearshore tasks include cable loading and transport from Nexans' facility in Norway, along with beach pulls and simultaneous lay-and-bury procedures, leveraging Asso.subsea's established expertise in these operations.
Earlier in 2025, the company secured nearshore installation work for TenneT's BalWin4, LanWin1, and LanWin5 projects off the northwestern coast of Baltrum Island.
"These awards are a strong recognition of our ability to execute highly demanding scopes, from precision nearshore operations to deep-water burial campaigns," said Alessandro Panico, director of business development at Asso.subsea.
The contracts reinforce Asso.subsea's ongoing collaboration with Nexans and its contribution to the development of Europe's offshore transmission infrastructure.
In a related development, UK-based Enshore Subsea has received a contract for shallow-water cable installation on the same three grid connection systems. The company will handle sections in the Wadden Sea, with operations set for 2027, 2029, and 2030.
These projects support the expansion of offshore wind energy transmission capacity in the German North Sea, facilitating greater integration of renewable sources into the regional power grid.
