LDA to convert three supply vessels into cable ships

LD Armateurs is buying three platform supply vessels under construction and converting them into cable ships, Data Center Dynamics reported.

Each converted vessel will hold 2,800 tonnes of cable and be fitted for installation and repair work, including more complex projects.

For investors who underwrite subsea fiber, no extra LDA cable capacity exists before early 2028, so projects and repairs planned for 2027 draw on the current fleet. According to the ISCPC, around 60 cable ships are in operation and many are more than 30 years old, while more than 400 subsea cables are running and demand is increasing. LDA's cable fleet has 12 ships today, six laying and six maintenance, with the maintenance ships managed for ASN and OMS. The three conversions would take it to 15.

The vessels are due from their builder in the second quarter of 2027, then transfer to a conversion yard, with commissioning scheduled for early 2028. Hybrid electric propulsion is specified to cut fuel use and CO2 emissions.

“With 25 years of experience installing and repairing submarine telecommunications cables on behalf of its customers, LDA is choosing to have a fleet of new cables,” said Samira Draoua, chief executive of LD Shipowners.

LDA, formed in 1911 as Louis Dreyfus Shipowners, runs about 30 ships. InfraVia is an investor through InfraVia European Fund VI. The subsea cable work sits in LD TravOcean.

Others are adding tonnage. OMS, Orange, ASEAN Cableship and ASN have all added new vessels to their fleets in recent years. In October, Orange, Equitix and MDM formed a joint venture for the Pisces subsea cable, as Private Wealth Daily previously reported. That 3,125km, 16-fiber-pair system is expected to be deployed during 2028, the same window in which the LDA hulls are due to come online.