Van Oord – Upgrade and Installation of Kongsberg IAS System
Cable Installation for Kongsberg IAS System Upgrade
Project Overview
MJR Power & Automation Completes IAS Upgrade Aboard MPI Resolution
Power and control cable upgrade for Van Oord on the Kongsberg ACON-R integrated automation system project, delivered inside a two-week dry dock window in Rotterdam.
MPI Resolution was the world's first purpose-built vessel for installing offshore wind turbines, foundations and transition pieces, a combination of proven technologies applied in a new way to give the offshore wind sector a single-vessel installation solution.
MJR Power & Automation was contracted by Van Oord to deliver the power and control cable upgrade supporting the vessel's Kongsberg ACON-R integrated automation system project. The scope covered removal of the existing cabling, then supply, installation, termination and testing of over 2,000 metres of new marine power, ethernet and fibre optic cable.
The cable routes ran the working length of the vessel, connecting the bridge, instrument room, engine control room and thruster spaces. All site works were completed by MJR's installation team during the vessel's dry docking in Rotterdam, within a two-week window.
Project significance An automation system upgrade is only as good as the infrastructure it runs on. Kongsberg's ACON-R upgrade depended on new power, ethernet and fibre routes being in place, tested and proven before the system could be brought into service, and the whole of that installation scope had to fit inside a fixed dry dock period alongside every other trade working on the vessel.
The challenge
A fixed, immovable programme.
Dry docking is booked in advance, shared with every other item of planned work and expensive to overrun. The entire installation scope, removal, installation, termination and testing, had to be complete inside two weeks, with no scope to extend.
Removal before installation.
The scope began with taking the existing cabling out. Removal on a vessel in service means working around containment that is still carrying live circuits, and it consumes programme time before any of the new installation can start.
Cable routes across the full vessel.
Runs connected the bridge, instrument room, engine control room and thruster spaces. Routes that cross multiple decks, pass through machinery spaces and require careful planning of containment and penetrations.
Three cable types, three disciplines.
Marine power cable, Cat5 ethernet and fibre optic each have different handling, bend radius, termination and test requirements. The fibre had to be spliced, terminated and OTDR tested to prove performance before handover.
Watertight and fire integrity to maintain.
Old transits had to be repacked and new transits installed. Every penetration through a bulkhead or deck is part of the vessel's fire and watertight subdivision, so this is certification work, not just cable management.
Another party's system on the other end.
The cabling served Kongsberg's ACON-R upgrade. The installation had to be complete, tested and proven to Kongsberg's requirements so that their commissioning could proceed without waiting on the infrastructure.
Scope of Work
Site works carried out by MJR Power & Automation's installation team during the vessel's dry docking in Rotterdam, over two weeks:
- Removal of existing power and control cabling
- 900 metres of Cat5 cable — supplied, installed and tested
- 350 metres of fibre optic cable — spliced, terminated and OTDR tested
- Over 800 metres of power cable — supplied, installed and tested
- Cable containment installation
- Existing cable transits re-packed
- New cable transits installed
- Termination and testing throughout
- Cable routes between bridge, instrument room, engine control room and thruster spaces
Total: over 2,000 metres of new marine power, ethernet and fibre optic cable.
Solutions Delivered
The Power — Over 800 metres of marine power cable
More than 800 metres of new marine power cable was supplied, installed and terminated to serve the upgraded automation system, replacing the existing power distribution cabling on the routes involved.
The Network — 900 metres of ethernet and 350 metres of fibre
Cat5 ethernet cable was installed across the vessel for the automation network, with fibre optic cable providing the longer and higher-integrity backbone runs. All 350 metres of fibre was spliced, terminated and OTDR tested, giving documented evidence of loss and continuity across every link before handover.
OTDR testing matters on an installation like this: it proves each fibre run performs to specification along its whole length, rather than simply confirming that light arrives at the far end. On a vessel where a fault could later sit behind a bulkhead or inside a containment run, that record is what makes the installation supportable.
The Route — Bridge to thruster spaces
Cables were installed throughout the vessel between the bridge, instrument room, engine control room and thruster spaces. New containment was installed along the routes, existing transits were re-packed and new transits fitted where the new cable routes required penetrations, maintaining the vessel's fire and watertight integrity.
The Method — Delivered inside the dry dock
The complete scope, removal, installation, termination, testing and containment work, was delivered by MJR Power & Automation's installation team in two weeks during the vessel's Rotterdam dry docking, on time and within budget.
Delivery & Approval
Factory Acceptance Tested and Shipped in Eight Weeks
The project was completed on time and within budget during the vessel's dry docking in Rotterdam. MJR Power & Automation was subsequently awarded further marine power and automation upgrade contracts by MPI / Van Oord across other vessels in their fleet.
Quote — Ryan Reilly, Sales and Business Development Manager, MJR Power & Automation:
"With the project delivered on time and within budget, further demonstrating the professionalism and dedication of MJR's marine installation team in successfully delivering these scopes of works. This was further cemented by the award of further marine power and automation upgrade contracts by MPI/Van Oord across vessels in their fleet."
Technical Summary
- Client Van Oord
- Vessel MPI Resolution
- Sector Offshore Wind
- Scope for MJR Cable removal, supply, installation, termination and testing
- System served Kongsberg ACON-R integrated automation system upgrade
- Total cable installed Over 2,000 metres
- Ethernet 900m Cat5
- Fibre optic 350m — spliced, terminated and OTDR tested
- Power cable Over 800m
- Containment New containment; old transits re-packed, new transits installed
- Cable routes Bridge, instrument room, ECR, thruster spaces
- Location Dry dock, Rotterdam
- Duration Two weeks, site works
- Outcome Delivered on time and within budget; further fleet contracts awarded
Project Outcomes
On time and within budget inside a fixed window.
The full scope was delivered within the two-week dry dock period, so the vessel's return to service was not affected by the cable installation.
The IAS upgrade was able to proceed.
New power, ethernet and fibre infrastructure was installed, tested and proven, allowing the Kongsberg ACON-R upgrade to be brought into service on the infrastructure MJR delivered.
Fibre performance documented across every run.
OTDR testing of all 350 metres of fibre gave the vessel a recorded performance baseline for future fault finding and maintenance.
Fire and watertight integrity maintained.
Transit repacking and new transit installation kept the vessel's subdivision intact across every new penetration.
Further contracts awarded across the fleet.
MJR Power & Automation was subsequently awarded further marine power and automation upgrade contracts by MPI / Van Oord on other vessels.
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