VARD design selected as basis for new US cable repair ship
The VARD 9 01 design – seen here in service with NCT Offshore – is the subject of a requirements feasibility study for the US Navy's T-ARC(X) cable repair ship programme. (Vard Marine)
The US Navy (USN) has contracted ship design house VARD Marine to perform design development of a planned new cable repair ship (T-ARC[X]), the Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) for Maritime confirmed in a sole-source justification and approval (J&A) notice published on 22 October.
According to the redacted J&A - a government approvals document that outlines the justification for a single-source procurement without recourse to competition - the firm-fixed price contract funding VARD to undertake T-ARC(X) requirements feasibility studies was awarded on 14 September. PAE Maritime declined to specify the contract value or duration, stating only that the cost to government was assessed to be “fair and reasonable”.
Established in 2000, the T-ARC(X) programme is intended to recapitalise the USN's undersea cable installation and repair capability, and deliver a replacement for the cable layer USNS Zeus (T-ARC 7). Zeus , which was deactivated in 2025 after a 41-year career, was primarily employed to transport, install, retrieve, and repair undersea cables and equipment, with a secondary mission of conducting acoustic, hydrographic, and bathymetric surveys.
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