Shipboard cable built for salt, vibration and limited escape routes
Voltcore supplies shipboard power, control and offshore cable designed and tested to IEC 60092 and supplied to the requirements of classification society rules.
Cable installed on a vessel behaves differently from cable installed on land for reasons that have nothing to do with the current it carries. Everything is mounted on a flexible steel structure that twists in a seaway, so every hanger sees continuous low amplitude vibration that works at terminations and at any unsupported gland. Salt-laden moisture is everywhere, and the space between decks is both hot and poorly ventilated, which compresses the derating allowances an engineer would normally take for granted. Because escape is harder and firefighting is done by the crew rather than by a responding brigade, flame spread, low smoke and halogen-free requirements are written into vessel practice rather than left to local preference.
Voltcore Cable has produced rubber and halogen-free marine constructions at its Yixing, Jiangsu plant since 2008, with 32 production lines and accredited ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 management systems. Marine and offshore cable is designed and tested to IEC 60092 and supplied to the requirements of classification society rules; Voltcore Cable does not hold type-approval certificates from ABS, DNV, LR, BV or CCS, so any certificate held on behalf of the ship should be arranged by the shipyard or owner as part of the vessel approval process. Typical orders combine shipboard power and control cable with flexible supplies for deck machinery, shipped from Shanghai or Ningbo.
Main and auxiliary machinery run continuously, and the hull bends with every wave. Vibration loosens the gland where the cable leaves the bulkhead and fatigues fine conductors, so the conductor class, gland type and support spacing have to be designed together rather than independently.
Chloride-laden moisture settles on every surface and reaches cable ends even inside accommodation spaces. Copper conductors corrode from a cut end inwards, and any unprotected steel armour loses section quickly, making tinned conductors, moisture-resistant bedding and sealed termination practice the practical default.
Cable ways in machinery spaces, galleys and laundries sit above normal building temperatures with limited airflow. Ratings taken from a standard table are optimistic here. Grouping dozens of circuits on a single tray with limited ventilation further reduces the permissible current in each conductor.
Bilge areas, pump rooms and cargo handling decks expose sheath material to mineral oil, hydraulic fluid, diesel and cleaning agents. Oil-swollen sheath material loses tensile strength and lets fluid migrate along the conductor, which is how damage spreads past the original point of contact.
Fire containment relies on bulkheads and on the cable not acting as a fuel source between compartments. Consequently, marine constructions require flame retardant behaviour in bunched installations, and halogen-free low smoke types are increasingly preferred in accommodation and public areas.
Selected from 67 types because they match the conditions above, not because they are our best sellers.
Rubber insulated shipboard power distribution for accommodation blocks, machinery spaces and deck supplies.
Full specification →Bunched control and instrumentation routing through engine rooms, bulkhead penetrations and cargo control rooms.
Full specification →Platform and drilling installations exposed to drilling mud, hydrocarbons and high-pressure washdown conditions.
Full specification →Flexible supply leads for deck machinery, portable tools, temporary lighting and maintenance equipment on board.
Full specification →Halogen-free power distribution within accommodation decks and public spaces where smoke control is emphasised.
Full specification →Shore-side applications such as quay-mounted gantries, outreach power supply and container handling equipment.
Full specification →A shipyard refitting a cargo vessel needed replacement distribution and control cable for machinery space routing where the original insulation had hardened.
Voltcore supplied shipboard power cable with flexible Class 5 conductors and matching flame retardant control cable, both designed and tested to IEC 60092 and supplied to the requirements of classification society rules. Cut lengths were planned per frame section, and Voltcore flagged clearly that society type approval would be arranged by the yard under its own certification arrangement.
A port operator maintaining ship-to-shore gantry cranes required the supply crane trailing cable and quayside energising leads.
Flexible weather resistant rubber constructions were selected for continuous reel movement and exposure to sun and spray, with conductor sizing reviewed against the crane duty cycle. Voltcore provided cut-to-length supply against the operator's maintenance schedule, with OEM drum marking so the fleet management system could track each replacement from Shanghai.
Examples are illustrative; project references and documentation available on request.
Include cross-section, core count, voltage grade, route length and installation method — those five determine price more than anything else on the page.
No. Voltcore Cable marine and offshore cable is designed and tested to IEC 60092 and supplied to the requirements of classification society rules, but the factory does not hold type-approval certificates from ABS, DNV, LR, BV or CCS. Where a particular certificate is required on the vessel, it should be arranged by the shipyard or owner.
Usually yes, for any conductor size exposed to salt-laden air or condensation. Tin plating slows corrosion at terminations and at the strand interface, which is where bare copper degrades fastest on board. Voltcore offers tinned conductor options and can advise where the additional cost is justified versus serving the same route from a sealed enclosure.
Allowance should be made for the ambient temperature of the space, the ventilation available to the run and the grouping of adjacent circuits. Rather than applying a single factor, send Voltcore the location, tray fill and number of loaded circuits, and we will tabulate a corrected current rating for the chosen construction.
Yes, subject to forming the marine constructions to IEC 60092. Many operators combine shipboard distribution orders with weather resistant rubber cable for shore-based container handling plant. MOQ is 500 m per size, lead time is 15–25 working days, and consolidated shipments leave from Shanghai or Ningbo.
RFQs are answered by an application engineer first. Typical reply within 12 hours, CST working days.