PALFINGER: Equipping Italian Renaissance Inspired Vessel with State-of-the-art Solutions

The Monna Lisa is the Prysmian Group’s new cutting-edge cable laying vessel, currently under construction at VARD Tulcea in Romania. The vessel will become the company’s latest flagship to lead the way to carbon neutrality. PALFINGER MARINE has been officially commissioned to deliver a major equipment package to support their decarbonization goals.

The Mona Lisa is for sure the most famous painting in the world, and its marine namesake will soon be operating in the world's oceans. The Monna Lisa, sister ship to Prysmian’s Leonardo da Vinci, is 171 meters long and can accommodate up to 120 people. With its 100 tons of cable pulling tension, it has the deepest power cable installation capacity in the market, reaching as far as 3,000 meters of water depth. Fitted with PALFINGER equipment the new vessel will incorporate several technical and sustainable solutions aimed at reducing carbon emissions as well as the environmental footprint of the industry. With its Strategy & Vision 2030, PALFINGER continues to focus on the needs of customers and partners. The state-of-the-art solutions for the Monna Lisa underlines PALFINGER’s support in achieving their sustainability goals.

Reliable equipment from PALFINGER MARINE
Confirming PALFINGER’s position once more, the company has been selected to supply the new vessel with an extensive equipment package similar to the one supplied for Prysmian’s previous cable laying vessel, Leonardo da Vinci. The equipment package from PALFINGER consists of a large A- frame for plough operations, an active heave-compensated lifting/towing winch, one towing winch, one combined quadrant/auxiliary winch, two auxiliary winches, one towing roller with limiting pins, two hangar travelling cranes, two tension elevators with hatch covers, two mooring platforms, two provision platforms, two ROV doors with L-hatches, lifeboats and fenders.

The Monna Lisa will join Prysmian’s installation fleet, increasing their number of cable laying vessels to six. Designed by VARD Design in Ålesund, Norway, its hull is being built at VARD Tulcea in Romania, while final outfitting, commissioning and delivery will be carried out by VARD Søviknes in Norway. VARD Group’s high technology subsidiaries are also involved in the project by delivering a range of equipment and solutions. The cable laying vessel is to start commercial operation in Q1 2025.

“Our goal is to be the leading supplier of mission-critical equipment for large and advanced cable laying vessels in the maritime industry. This delivery once again proves our capability to develop, design and deliver high-end, vital equipment for cable laying operations. We look forward to embarking on this new project together with Prysmian”, says Sverre Mowinckel-Nilsen, Head of Global Marine Sales Solution Management at PALFINGER MARINE.

The Monna Lisa will feature cable installation equipment including carousels of 7,000 and 10,000 tons as well as state-of-the-art DP3 positioning and seakeeping systems. With a beam of about 34 meters it comes with a bollard pull of 200 tons. Its maximum transit speed will exceed 16 knots.