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New equipment includes jet trencher and Artemis tracker
Sekikaiji Industry has expanded its submarine cable installation capability with the purchase of new trenching equipment from SMD for use in the Japanese offshore wind market.

The company said the package, set for delivery in spring 2026, includes a high power jet trencher with a dedicated high sea state launch and recovery system and the SMD Artemis tracker.

SMD added that the vehicle system and tracker align with the demands of Japan’s emerging offshore wind sector.

“SEKIKAIJI has again put their trust in SMD equipment to expand its cable trenching capability ready for offshore wind. The new vehicle system and Artemis cable tracker; one of our key innovations for cable burial assurance, both align perfectly with the demands of Japan’s emerging offshore wind market,” said Matthew Woodward, business development manager at SMD.

“Our latest generation high power jet trencher is a powerful and versatile vehicle capable of delivering genuine 3m product burial for maximum cable protection. Operating across Japan’s varied seabed conditions, it offers faster burial speeds and is compatible with power cable, including bundles and pipelines.

“SMD Artemis has an unrivalled detection range unlike any other on the market. Using electromagnetic field technology, it accurately locates cables during construction phase of a windfarm, where there is no existing power or injected tone.

Artemis enables cable detection during multipass burial, proving confidence in burial depth beyond existing technologies.

Furthermore, it provides greater positional accuracy for post-burial surveys, or when trying to locate dead or inactive cables and pipelines.”

“This is a major milestone for us, strengthening our ability to meet the demands for larger power cables, deeper burial depths, and faster project timescales,” stated Masaru Seki, president of Sekikaiji.

“We chose SMD for this important contract because of its unrivalled experience in the offshore wind industry and its proven track record of delivering reliable, high-performance subsea technology.

“Having operated in Japanese waters for over half a century, we are committed to remaining one of the country’s leading submarine cable burial contractors. This means supporting the development of the emerging offshore renewable market, where safe and accurate cable burial is essential.

“We look forward to using the SMD QTrencher vehicle and SMD Artemis to support our clients with their complex subsea operations.”