Jan De Nul has placed an order for a second subsea trenching support vessel to bury energy cables, MarineLink reported on 21 September 2026.
The company said the new vessel will be an exact sister ship to the Isambard K. Brunel, which Jan De Nul ordered in March. The announcement underlines a deliberate expansion of the firm’s capacity for cable installation and protection.
The vessel is described in the report as being purpose-built to bury subsea energy cables, extending the operator’s ability to deliver cable protection services. The decision to take a second identical unit follows the earlier March order for the Isambard K. Brunel, signalling continuity in design and capability.
Sister ship and fleet consistency
Making the new vessel an exact sister to the earlier order implies Jan De Nul is standardising on a trenching-support platform, which can simplify crewing, maintenance and operational planning. The choice of a repeat design also suggests a preference for proven arrangements over bespoke variations for each project.
Repeat orders are commonly used by operators to ensure predictable performance and reduced integration time between vessels, and the report frames this order in those terms. By mirroring the Isambard K. Brunel in design, the new ship should slot into the company’s programme with minimal modification.
Role in cable installation and protection
According to the report, the trenching support vessel’s principal function is to bury subsea energy cables, a task that contributes directly to the long-term protection and reliability of power links on the seabed. The acquisition therefore supports Jan De Nul’s stated expansion of its fleet dedicated to cable installation and protection.
The new vessel will expand the operator’s on-paper resources for trenching activities and related services, allowing for greater project throughput or redundancy when multiple tasks overlap. The report makes clear the intent is to strengthen capability rather than to introduce a novel vessel type.
Taken together, the two orders mark a clear procurement path for Jan De Nul in the trenching-support segment. MarineLink’s item dated 21 September 2026 presents the second order as a continuation rather than a one-off procurement move.
The publication’s account highlights the company’s emphasis on cable protection work and the practical advantages of sister-ship arrangements. Beyond those points, the report does not disclose builder, delivery schedule, contract value or technical specifications.
Operational implications will depend on how Jan De Nul integrates the new unit with existing assets and project pipelines, and how the vessel is deployed across cable-laying and protection contracts. The MarineLink report is focused on the procurement decision itself and the relation to the earlier March order for the Isambard K. Brunel.
For now the confirmed facts are straightforward: Jan De Nul has ordered a second vessel of a trenching-support type; it will be an exact sister to the Isambard K. Brunel; and the company is expanding its fleet for cable installation and protection, according to MarineLink’s 21 September 2026 report.