DEME’s new offshore installation vessel Orion has officially joined the company’s fleet.
The company claims the next-generation vessel brings a game-changing installation concept to the offshore energy market. Orion is equipped with a powerful, 5,000-tonne crane and is designed to handle the enormous turbines and foundations of the future. With a total installed power of 44,180 kW and at 216.5 m long, the vessel has a large unobstructed deck and a deadweight that has been maximised so it can handle the heaviest components.
Orion is also equipped with an integrated motion compensated pile gripper which has been designed by DEME’s and Huisman’s expert engineers. Coupled with the vessel’s DP3 capability, the gripper allows the monopiles to remain vertical and stable during installation, despite motions of the ship and waves, and crucially, to be installed without the use of mooring anchors.
Combining these engineering technologies and ability to transport the new giant turbines, jackets and components in a single shipment, Orion will speed up installation times dramatically, making the vessel an extremely cost-effective solution for wind farm developers.
Sustainability considerations are also a vital part of the vessel’s design. Orion has dual fuel engines enabling it to run on LNG or alternative clean fuels, a waste heat recovery system, a Green Passport and Clean Design notation. The evaporation of LNG cools the accommodation with a cold recovery system.
The 210-metre vessel is powered by four 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 46DF dual-fuel electric propulsion engines and two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engines. Wärtsilä also supplied two custom made retractable thrusters, four underwater demountable thrusters, and the Wärtsilä LNGPac storage and supply system.
Orion will shortly set sail for its first project in Germany, where XL foundations will be installed at the Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm. This will be followed by a decommissioning project in the UK. Orion will also be deployed for the installation of 176 foundations at the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm in the US, one of the largest offshore wind developments in the world.
A second vessel Green Jade was launched at CSBC’s shipyard in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in April. Green Jade is the first floating, DP3 offshore installation vessel to be built in Taiwan.
