South Korea’s Taihan Cable & Solution (TC&S) announced that on July 24, they held a launching ceremony for the 6,200-ton submarine cable laying vessel “Palos” at the Godeok Pier in the Asan National Industrial Complex, Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do, where their submarine cable factory is located.

Per a report in KoreaITtimes.com, the Palos is the only offshore wind power CLV (Cable Laying Vessel) in the country and can load up to 4,400 tons of submarine cable at once. Attendees at the event included representatives from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea Wind Energy Industry Association, as well as various power companies, clients, and partner companies also attended.

Palos is a CLV designed and built specifically for submarine cable laying from the start, offering superior performance compared to CLBs (Cable Laying Barges) that are repurposed cargo barges. Unlike general vessels, Palos has a flat bottom, allowing it to be deployed to various sites regardless of water depth. It is equipped with advanced features such as the Dynamic Positioning System (DP2), which ensures precise vessel positioning. It can travel at a speed of up to 9 knots, enabling it to manage submarine cable laying much more accurately and stably compared to CLBs, which are towed by tugboats and cannot respond as effectively to weather changes and tides.

“Today’s launching ceremony marks South Korea’s rise to one of the few countries globally equipped with a CLV, with only about 30 such vessels existing worldwide,” said CT&S Vice Chairman Song Jong-min. “Palos will ... serve as a critical strategic asset that protects Korea’s offshore wind power market from overseas influences.”

In other news, TC&S said the company has won a new U.S. power grid EHV cable order worth $137 million. The company will supply the cables to an unnamed customer for an underground project in the eastern part of the U.S.

TC&S noted that its net profit for 2023 (71.87 billion won) was triple that of the prior year (21.83 billion won), and that the company’s order backlog is now 1.94 trillion won as of the end of the first quarter.