DeepOcean and TFKable Group form joint venture to deliver integrated inter-array cable services for offshore wind
DeepOcean and TFKable Group — the controlling entity behind Tele-Fonika Kable and JDR Cable Systems — have agreed to form a joint venture targeting integrated EPCI services for inter-array cable projects in offshore wind. The move is a direct response to growing pressure from developers who want tighter coordination across cable manufacturing and installation.
Joint venture agreement announced
The deal pairs DeepOcean with TFKable Group’s controlling entity — an umbrella covering Tele-Fonika Kable, JDR Cable Systems, and their affiliated companies. Together, they’re going after the full engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) chain for inter-array cable projects in offshore wind.
It’s not operational yet. The venture still needs approval from relevant competition authorities and has to clear standard closing requirements. Until then, both companies say they’ll keep serving customers independently, project by project.
TFKable Group covers subsea cable design, manufacturing, and technology, while DeepOcean handles offshore engineering, installation, and seabed intervention.
Why the partners are combining forces
The offshore wind industry has a supply chain problem — or at least a serious pressure point. Developers want fewer project interfaces and tighter coordination between the companies that make cables and the ones that put them in the water. That’s the gap this joint venture is built to close.
Each partner brings something the other doesn’t. TFKable Group covers subsea cable design, manufacturing, and technology, while DeepOcean handles offshore engineering, installation, and seabed intervention. There’s minimal overlap — and that’s exactly the point.
“By combining complementary cable manufacturing and offshore installation capabilities, we intend to create a more efficient delivery model that reduces interfaces, strengthens risk management and supports greater project certainty,” said Øyvind Mikaelsen, CEO of DeepOcean.
Piotr Mirek, a Member of the Management Board of Tele-Fonika Kable and Executive Director for Supply Chains and Investments at JDR Cable Systems, framed it differently. He pointed to the opportunity to offer customers “a more integrated solution covering a broader part of the cable project lifecycle.” The pitch to customers comes down to fewer handoffs, better risk management, and more predictable delivery.
Scope of services and planned cable-laying vessel
The joint venture is designed to cover the entire inter-array cable project lifecycle — seabed mapping, route surveys, engineering, cable manufacturing, transportation, trenching, installation, and cable protection, all under one offering.
The most concrete piece of the plan is a purpose-built, dedicated cable-laying vessel. Not shared, not repurposed. Planned specifically for inter-array cable project delivery.
Ownership of that vessel sits in a separate entity involving three parties: Poland’s state-owned industrial development agency ARP (Agencja Rozwoju Przemyslu S.A.), DeepOcean, and TFKable Group’s controlling entity. It’s an unusual structure — one that pulls a national development institution into what is otherwise a commercial deal. The partners have also left the door open, noting the venture “may expand to other subsea cable applications” down the line.
Development timeline and milestones through 2029
This isn’t something that flips on overnight. The collaboration is structured as a multi-year development program, with capabilities coming online progressively as it matures. Key milestones are planned through 2029 — a long runway that reflects the complexity of building a full integrated EPCI offering and the lead times involved in vessel construction and supply chain investment.
Work toward project sanction for the cable-laying vessel is already underway. The partners describe themselves as “progressing toward the necessary milestones required for project sanction,” though no specific delivery date for the vessel has been publicly confirmed.
Separately, TFKable Group is investing in subsea cable manufacturing capacity in both Poland and the United Kingdom. Those investments sit outside the joint venture itself but are intended to feed into the integrated offering once it’s operational.
What the deal means in practice
Pull the threads together and a clear picture forms. DeepOcean and TFKable Group are betting that offshore wind’s next growth phase will reward vertically integrated providers over fragmented supply chains — and their joint venture is designed to be the answer, a single point of accountability for inter-array cable projects from seabed survey through final installation.
ARP’s stake in the vessel ownership structure adds a geopolitical layer. Poland has been pushing its offshore wind ambitions hard, and a state-backed industrial agency taking a position in a purpose-built cable-laying vessel signals that national interest is part of the equation.
The regulatory process still has to run its course, and the program’s milestones stretch to 2029. But the structure is in place: complementary capabilities, a dedicated vessel in development, manufacturing investment on both sides of the North Sea. If competition authorities sign off, the offshore wind cable market will have a new integrated player working toward full operational capability before the decade is out.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
