A Multi-Disciplinary Approach
Timeline Interview with Allan Spaans,
Head of Installation at C-Systems
March 2025
C-Systems is working on the systems integration of a very important type of ship: a cable repair vessel. Bachmann electronic is providing the solutions needed for the onboard automation, energy monitoring and control of power generation systems.
At the end of 2024, C-Systems was contracted by Dutch shipbuilders Neptune to deliver the systems integration for a new 99-metre long cable repair vessel. Construction of the ship has already started, with the delivery date expected to be in 2026.
We will be following this project as it progresses: meeting the people involved, learning more about how a cable repair ship is built, about the innovative solutions C-Systems and its client have come up with. And how Bachmann is supporting the process.
In this article about the system integration of C-System's cable repair vessels, Allan Spanns, Head of Installation at C-System, is interviewed to explain the timeline of the project.
Where does C-Systems make a start on a project like this?
Space is always the limiting factor on a ship. So at the beginning of the project, we take a multi-disciplinary approach, looking at the capacity and the levels of safety required by the client. We start with the basic engineering, this is the broad overview of the electrical system on board the ship. We work out what we need based on our experience and knowledge – determining the cable routes through the ship. And of course other disciplines like piping and HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] need space too. It is always a bit of a puzzle but the different disciplines with the different suppliers come together to create one solution. Then as the project progresses, we work on the detailed engineering, which includes all the details per system. All aspects of the ship – the engines, the smoke detectors, the galley, for example – are on separate systems. If we need help with a problem, we can call up Bachmann and see if they have any ideas that will help us.
Construction has already started. How much is C-Systems involved with that?
At the moment, the hull is being built in Poland and the rest of the sections are being built in the Netherlands. We are involved in the steel cutting process because there has to be space cut for the electrical cables and the piping.
Why is this done so early in the shipbuilding process? Can’t you cut those spaces later?
If you do this early, you save time later. In the ideal world, the shipyard welds each section of the ship to the next with minimal changes to the steel work, with all the cable routes and piping already in place.
And how realistic is this ‘ideal world’ situation?
There is always going to be a certain amount of additional steel work at a later date. With so many ship systems needing space, keeping the amount of changes to a minimum is the biggest challenge. But here our knowledge and experience is very good in optimising the build process. We make sure that we understand the client, the end-client, and the rest of the supply chain to make this happen.
What regulations do you have to consider in the vessel design?
This ship will have 99 people on board and will be 99 metres long. But rather than being classified as a workboat, it is actually a passenger vessel, classified as SPS100. This means that there are a lot more additional safety measures in place. For example, the public address system, more alarms, also into every single hut on board: all of these measures need their own power supply.