wiredInUSA October 2016

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wiredInUSA - October 2016 29
Following a recent keel-laying ceremony,
DEME’s latest subsea cable installation
and trenching vessel, Living Stone, is under
construction at the LaNaval shipyard near
Bilbao, Spain.
The vessel will be equipped with two
turntables below deck, each with 5,000
tons cable capacity. Together the
turntables can transport over 200km of
cable for installation in a single trip. A third
carousel can be accommodated above
deck with an additional load capacity of
2,000 tons and a 600-ton crane. A system
developed in-house by Tideway is said to
enable the Living Stone to install cables
faster, more efficiently, and in longer
lengths than any other cable installation
vessel.
Living Stone features DP3 (dynamic
positioning) capability and dual-fuel
engines, LNG being its prime fuel. The
vessel has a green passport and clean
design notation, awarded to owners and
operators who choose to design and
operate their vessels in an environmentally
sustainable approach.
Living Stone will be deployed by DEME’s
Dutch subsidiary, Tideway. The vessel
is scheduled for delivery in the second
quarter of 2017.
Advanced cable ship
Austria’s cable and wire harness maker
Gebauer & Griller Kabelwerke GmbH is
looking to invest around $11 million to
expand its output capacity in Moldova.
The company describes its operations as a
supplier of thermoplastic-insulated cables
and wires.
The potential expansion could create
about 400 new jobs in Moldova, with a
further 400 employees to be added when
the production facility reaches its full
capacity in 2018.
The investment was unveiled by Eva
Schinkinger, the company’s managing
director, following a meeting with officials
from the Moldovan ministry of economy.
Gebauer & Griller Kabelwerke currently
operates a plant in northern Moldova,
partly financed by an investment loan
from the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD).
Established in 1940, Gebauer & Griller
Kabelwerke supplies its output to the
automotive, telecoms, elevator and
escalator industries. The Vienna-based
company also has operations in the US,
Mexico, India, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia.
Plant investment
Eva Schinkinger, CEO