Wärtsilä to power new LNG-fuelled offshore construction vessel

The vessel will be owned by Dredging International (DEME) and built at the Cosco shipyard in China. It will be the first vessel of its kind to be powered by LNG. In addition to the dual-fuel engines, Wärtsilä will also supply its LNGPac fuel storage and supply system and propulsion systems. The orders with the company were booked in 4Q16 and in February 2017.

Jan Gabriel, Head of newbuilding and conversion department at DEME, said: “The decision to utilise clean burning LNG fuel represents our commitment to provide environmentally sustainable solutions for our operations. Wärtsilä has extensive experience and vast technological know-how in this field, which is why we have selected them as our partner in this project.”

Arthur Boogaard, General Manager, Business Development Special Vessels at Wärtsilä, added: “We are pleased to have been involved in this newbuild project from the conceptual design stage, since this enables our input on providing the most fuel efficient solution. We are also delighted that the Wärtsilä 46DF engine has been selected, as the dual-fuel version of this well proven and popular engine has only recently been introduced.”

The vessel, named Orion, will be 210 m long, and will be powered by four nine-cylinder Wärtsilä 46DF dual-fuel electric propulsion engines, as well as two six-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engines. In addition to this, the company will provide two custom-made retractable thrusters, four underwater demountable thrusters, the Wärtsilä LNGPac storage and supply system, and commissioning, site supervision and extended project management services. The equipment is scheduled to be delivered at the yard in late 2017. When complete, the vessel will be delivered to its owners in 2018, and will be used for the installation of offshore wind farms located across the globe.

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/lng-shipping/18042017/wrtsil-to-power-new-lng-fuelled-offshore-construction-vessel/