Marine Electrical Installation & Outfitting
New systems and equipment cabled, connected, integrated and commissioned — so your vessel leaves the yard with everything working, not a list of open items.
An installation is finished when it is proven
Electrical installation on a vessel is more than fitting equipment. Cables have to be routed through a ship that was not built around them, new equipment has to be connected into switchboards and distribution that are already carrying load, and new controls have to work with the automation already on board.
We plan installation work around the yard programme or the vessel's schedule, work alongside the other trades on site, and finish with testing and commissioning — so the system is handed over working and documented, not with an open list. When the work is an upgrade to an existing system rather than a new one, it is a retrofit, and we plan it that way.
What an installation covers
Typical work packages — every job is scoped to your vessel.
New installations
New electrical systems and equipment, from the supply to the consumer.
Upgrades and additions
New loads and equipment added to an existing installation, sized against what is already there.
Cabling
Cable routing, pulling and termination, with penetrations and segregation planned in from the start.
Equipment integration
New equipment installed and connected so that it works with the systems around it.
Switchboard and distribution integration
New circuits connected into the main and distribution switchboards, with protection set to suit.
Motors and drives
Electric motors and variable frequency drives installed, connected and set up for their load.
Automation and control integration
New equipment brought into the vessel's control and automation systems.
Testing and commissioning
Insulation and function testing, controlled energisation and commissioning, with the results recorded.
An installation inside a yard period
The AMP system on the container ship OOCL Montreal was installed at Sefine Shipyard in 2026, inside a combined yard period and to the yard's dock schedule. Orion Marine delivered the AMP and marine-electrical scope, and the vessel left commissioned.
Read the case studyFrom survey to commissioning
Whatever the size of the job, three stages take it from drawing to working system.
- 01
Survey
Survey and engineering
Site survey, load check and cable routes are agreed, and the design is fixed before material is ordered.
- 02
Install
Installation
Cabling, equipment and connections, sequenced with the yard programme or the vessel's schedule.
- 03
Prove
Testing and commissioning
Insulation and function tests, energisation and commissioning, with records for the handover.
Related services and guides
- Retrofit & ModernizationShip electrical retrofits: obsolete component replacement, switchboard, distribution and control upgrades, motors and drives, and shore power integration.
- Repair & TroubleshootingShip electrical fault finding and repair: switchboards, generators, motors, drives, controls, distribution and cabling — on board, in port or in the yard.
- Shore Power / AMPShore power (AMP / OPS) retrofits: load survey, HV shore connection to IEC/IEEE/ISO 80005-1, transformer, cable management, installation and commissioning.
- Marine Electrical ServicesMarine electrical installation, retrofit, repair and shore power work on vessels — in shipyards, ports, on board and offshore, from a Turkey-based team.
Questions about electrical installation
- What is marine electrical outfitting?
- The electrical part of fitting out a vessel, or a new system on board: running and terminating cables, installing equipment, connecting it into switchboards and distribution and integrating it with the controls — then testing and commissioning it.
- Can installation work be done while the vessel is trading?
- Some of it, yes. Work that does not need systems shut down can be done on board or alongside; anything that needs a dead switchboard or hot work is usually planned into a port stay or a docking. We plan the split during the survey.
- Who provides the equipment?
- Either way works. Equipment can be supplied by the owner or sourced by us as part of the electrical scope; in both cases we check it against the design before it is installed.
- Do you test and commission what you install?
- Yes. Testing and commissioning are part of every installation we deliver, with insulation and function test results recorded for the handover.
Planning an installation?
Send us the vessel, the equipment and the timing. We'll come back with a scope you can plan the yard period around.