Global Cable Laying Vessels Market Research Report 2024-Competitive Analysis, Status and Outlook by Type, Downstream Industry, and Geography, Forecast to 2030

Global Cable Laying Vessels Market Research Report 2024-Competitive Analysis, Status and Outlook by Type, Downstream Industry, and Geography, Forecast to 2030

A cable laying vessel is a deep-sea vessel designed to lay underwater cables, including power cables, telecommunications cables, and military cables. Cable-laying vessels are also capable of recovering broken or damaged subsea cables and repairing them on board. Since cable laying work is not carried out year-round, the cable laying ship is also used as a scientific research vessel to monitor various conditions in the ocean and seawater. The tonnage of most cable laying ships is over 11,000 tons, and the largest cable layer can carry more than 10,000 tons or more of cables. The installation of underwater cables is achieved by tools and equipment on board cable laying vessels: dynamic positioning and dynamic tracking systems pinpoint the ship's exact position in the ocean; intelligent control systems ensure low fuel consumption, reduced costs, and environmental footprint; cable laying equipment includes plows, cable pulleys, cable drums, cable engines and winches.

Market Overview:

The latest research study on the global Cable Laying Vessels market finds that the global Cable Laying Vessels market reached a value of USD 604.62 million in 2023. It’s expected that the market will achieve USD 948.44 million by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.79% during the forecast period.

Stubborn inflation, rising interest rates and increasing uncertainty hamper sustainable economic development. Inflation remains high in many countries. Although upward price pressures are expected to gradually ease, inflation in many countries will remain well above central bank comfort zones. Global monetary tightening has exacerbated developing countries’ fiscal and debt vulnerabilities. Rising borrowing costs and a stronger dollar have also increased debt service burdens and the risk of debt defaults. Financing constraints will limit the ability of governments to invest in education, health, sustainable infrastructure and the energy transition, thereby affecting the acceleration of sustainable development.

Inflation has led to increasing fuel prices and the maritime industry has suffered significant losses. Inflation makes manufacturers' goods expensive and unaffordable, and the company's raw material, manufacturing and management costs increase, such as steel plates, paints, oil filters, electronic circuits, and communication radio costs. Consumer purchasing power decreases. This means that the business will sell less, thus reducing the business's total revenue. The high cost of living has also led to increased demand from workers for higher wages. Another negative impact is that inflation has brought sustainability strategies to a standstill for most businesses. Including sustainable materials, renewable energy, waste reduction and efficiency improvements.

Advantages of cable laying vessels and the need to replace aging cables

Cable laying vessels perform a wide range of tasks. These include the installation of cables for offshore wind farms, the installation of fiber optic cables for telecommunication, and cable installations for the oil and gas industry. One of the pivotal advantages of a larger cable-laying vessel is its ability to lay the entire cable in one go, eliminating the need for mid-sea cable splicing, which can be vulnerable points for potential damage. Dynamic positioning systems provide a higher level of safety for offshore wind farm vessels and surrounding facilities and are also suitable for environmentally sensitive waters where many wind farms are located. Being able to provide a high level of safety makes ships more attractive to those with stringent safety requirements. The newly designed cable laying vessel is not only suitable for deep sea operations but also designed for shallow water operations.

Aging submarine cables used for power transmission, telecommunications networks, and oil and gas operations require upgrades and repairs, driving the demand for cable laying vessels. The equipment components of the cable are designed to have a specified failure rate over 25 years. Many warranties, licenses, and landing permits also typically expire after 25 years. When a cable is decommissioned, it may remain inactive on the seafloor. Some companies gain access to the cable, pull it up, and recycle it as raw material. To accomplish this task, the ship recycles the decommissioned cable and then relays it along a new path. For example, 464 submarine cables have been built globally, 82 of which reached design by 1998 service life. Over time, the number of submarine cables built in 1999-2003 and 2004-2008 reached 79 and 69 respectively. It is expected that 148 submarine cables will be retired in the next 10 years, creating a critical time window for the layout of new submarine cables. Some estimates put the cost of subsea cable failure for Offshore Wind at more than £500 million in 2020, the average insurance claim worth more than £3 million, and an estimated 30% failure rate in any given year.

Rising demand for cross-border power grid interconnection

International grid interconnection provides a link between the electricity transmission systems of two or more adjacent countries. Interconnection therefore enables these countries to share power generation resources. To improve the reliability of cross-border grid connections, there is increasing demand for submarine power cables. As developed and developing countries gradually shift towards using the Internet, the global cable laying vessel market has now expanded to North America, Europe, China, and Japan. Europe leads the way in both cable-laying vessel production and cable-laying services. Several telecommunications cables are being laid between Africa and Europe. The world's longest submarine interconnection cable runs 590 kilometers between the Netherlands and Norway. The UK has four submarine cable interconnectors linking it to France, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Northern Ireland, with several more proposed or under development. The existence of permanent cable connections between European countries increases the UK's security of supply and provides countries on both sides of the interconnection with the opportunity to benefit from low-cost energy supplies available in different energy markets throughout the year.

Taking into account the importance of connectivity to strengthen supply security and the need to facilitate cross-border trade, taking into account cost aspects and the potential for commercial exchanges, the European Commission proposes to extend the current 10% connectivity target to 15% by 2030. Rising demand for cross-border interconnected power grids is driving demand for submarine cables. The demand for submarine power cables can be linked to the demand for cable laying vessels, as these vessels are designed for the installation, maintenance, and decommissioning of submarine cables. Hence, increasing installation of subsea cables and increasing demand for cross-border interconnected power grids are expected to drive the cable laying vessel market.

Region Overview:

In 2022, the share of the Cable Laying Vessels market in Europe stood at 36.90%.

Company Overview:

Fincantieri is one of the major players operating in the Cable Laying Vessels market, holding a share of 22.55% in 2023.

Fincantieri is one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups and number one by diversification and innovation. Fincantieri is the leader in the realization and life cycle management of all high value-added sectors: cruise ship, naval and offshore vessels and a reference player in all high-tech shipbuilding industry’s sectors, ship repairs and conversions, systems and components production and after-sales services.

Headquartered in Trieste (Italy), Fincantieri Group has built more than 7,000 vessels in over 230 years of maritime history. With almost 20,000 employees, of whom more than 7,800 are in Italy, 90.000 job roles, and 18 shipyards in 4 continents, today Fincantieri is the leading Western shipbuilder. Fincantieri has among clients the major cruise operators, the Italian and the U.S. Navy, in addition to several foreign navies, and Fincantieri is the partner of some of the main European defense companies within supranational programs.

A subsidiary of Fincantieri since January 2013, the Vard Group is one of the world leaders in specialized shipbuilding for the offshore market. The Norwegian group's core business is designing and building complex and highly profiled OSVs such as PSVs, AHTSs, and OSCVs. Vard also constructs specialized ships, LNG fueled ferries, naval vessels and coast guard patrol boats, LPG vessels, fishing vessels, and icebreakers. The company also designs and supplies equipment, but the real key to its success is the high level of customization provided to each and every client, for any type of ship.

Segmentation Overview:

By type, Vessel Length >100 m segment accounted for the largest share of market in 2022.

Application Overview:

By application, the Power Cable segment occupied the biggest share from 2018 to 2022.

Key Companies in the global Cable Laying Vessels market covered in Chapter 3:

Fincantieri
Fujian Mawei
Ulstein Verft
Colombo Dockyard

In Chapter 4 and Chapter 14.2, on the basis of types, the Cable Laying Vessels market from 2019 to 2030 is primarily split into:

Vessel Length ≤100 m
Vessel Length >100 m

In Chapter 5 and Chapter 14.3, on the basis of Downstream Industry, the Cable Laying Vessels market from 2019 to 2030 covers:

Power Cable
Communication Cable

Geographically, the detailed analysis of consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate, historic and forecast (2019-2030) of the following regions are covered in Chapter 8 to Chapter 14:

North America (United States, Canada)
Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden)
Asia Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia)
Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina)
Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa)