New Asso.subsea cable layer to sport automation system from Finnish company

November 11, 2025, by Nadja Skopljak

Greece’s Asso.subsea has placed an order with a firm headquartered in Finland for an Integrated Automation System (IAS) to be delivered for its DP 2 cable-laying vessel (CLV) currently being built in China.

Valmet will supply its automation technology for the vessel named Althea, which the China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) shipyard started constructing earlier this month.

The order is included in Valmet’s orders received for the third quarter of 2025, with the value to remain undisclosed.

The company at the beginning of the year secured an order for marine methanol fuel automation control systems for two cable-laying vessels for Jan De Nul, also being built in China.

“Valmet’s automation system was the clear choice for this project. Their expertise and proven technology give us confidence in the vessel’s future performance,” said Iakovos Chondrogiannos, Project Technical Manager at Asso.subsea.

Asso.subsea’s Althea will have a 12,000-ton cable capacity in one, two, or three carousel divisions, designed for long sections and bundled cable laying. It will be equipped with a hybrid diesel and battery power generation plant, methanol-ready engines capable of running on bio-fuels and complying with IMO Tier III NOx emission standards, cold ironing capabilities and a number of energy-saving features.

Once delivered, the vessel will join Ariadne and Atalanti in Asso.subsea’s cable-laying fleet.