Belgium – The ‘Orion,’ DEME’s revolutionary offshore installation vessel, has officially joined the company’s fleet. This vessel brings to the offshore energy market a game-changing installation concept.
Orion is equipped with a 5,000-tonne crane and is built to handle the future’s massive turbines and foundations. The vessel has a large unobstructed deck and a deadweight that has been maximized so it can handle the heaviest components, with a total installed power of 44,180 kW and a length of 216.5 m.
Speeding up installation
Orion is also equipped with an integrated Motion Compensated Pile Gripper (MCPG), which was designed by DEME and Huisman’s expert engineers to enable the new installation vessel to handle future generations of giant turbines and foundations. The MCPG, when combined with the vessel’s DP3 capability, allows the monopiles to remain vertical and stable during installation in the seabed, despite the vessel’s waves and motions, and, most importantly, without the use of mooring anchors.
Orion will dramatically reduce installation times by combining these engineering technologies and the ability to transport the new giant turbines, jackets, and components in a single shipment, making the vessel an extremely cost-effective solution for wind farm developers.
The vessel’s design also incorporates sustainability considerations. Orion has dual-fuel engines that can run on LNG or other clean fuels, as well as a Green Passport and Clean Design designation. A waste heat recovery system converts heat from exhaust gases to electrical energy, which is another environmentally friendly innovation. With a cold recovery system, the evaporation of LNG also cools the accommodation.
First project
Orion will soon embark on its first project, the Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm in Germany, where XL foundations will be installed. After that, there will be a decommissioning project in the United Kingdom. Orion will also be used to install 176 foundations at the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm in the United States, which is one of the world’s largest offshore wind developments.
