LS Marine Solution’s GL2030, a specialized vessel built for offshore submarine cable installation. Courtesy of LS Marine Solution

LS Marine Solution has upgraded its submarine cable installation vessel GL2030, expanding its ability to take on large-scale offshore wind and high-voltage direct current transmission projects as demand grows for undersea energy infrastructure.

LS Marine Solution said Wednesday it completed modifications to GL2030, increasing the vessel’s cable loading capacity from 4,000 tons to 7,000 tons.

The upgrade allows the vessel to carry more submarine cable in a single voyage, enabling continuous installation over routes longer than 100 kilometers while reducing the number of trips required and improving construction efficiency for major projects.

The company said the investment is aimed at responding to rising demand for submarine power infrastructure, including offshore wind farms and HVDC networks.

The Korean government recently announced offshore wind bidding plans totaling 55 gigawatts by 2035, while the West Coast HVDC Energy Highway project is moving forward as part of efforts to expand the nation’s power infrastructure.

Demand for submarine power and communications cable installation is also increasing as artificial intelligence data centers drive greater investment in international undersea networks, the company said.

LS Marine Solution said it is strengthening its vessel capabilities based on different sea conditions and project requirements.

The GL2030 is optimized for shallow coastal waters, and the company said it plans to establish a two-track construction system capable of handling both coastal and long-distance, high-capacity projects once its next-generation 13,000-ton cable installation vessel is completed.

The company has secured projects including the Jeju submarine cable links No. 2 and No. 3 and the Korea-Japan submarine communications network project, known as JAKO, involving companies including Microsoft and Amazon.

LS Marine Solution said the expanded vessel capacity will help strengthen its competitiveness in national power grid projects, including the West Coast HVDC Energy Highway.

“We will expand our participation in key national power infrastructure projects and accelerate our push into global markets, including the United States and Europe, based on LS Cable \& System’s LS Greenlink submarine cable production facility in the U.S.,” an LS Marine Solution official said.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.