DEME Offshore's recently delivered flagship offshore installation vessel Orion has installed the first monopile at Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm site in the German Baltic Sea to the northeast of Rügen island. Arcadis Ost 1 is a 257 MW offshore wind project developed by Parkwind.
"Deploying ‘Orion’, the newest member of the DEME fleet and the most innovative vessel in the offshore wind industry, DEME Offshore has successfully installed the first XXL monopile at Parkwind’s Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm in Germany," DEME Offshore said Wednesday.
DEME’s floating DP3 offshore installation vessel is set to install the 28 giant monopiles, which at 110 meters long are the largest monopile foundations ever built in Europe, weighing more than 2,000 tonnes each.
"‘Orion’ is the first floating monohulled vessel able to perform these operations, speeding up installation times dramatically," DEME Offshore said.
‘Orion’ has dual-fuel engines and is being powered by LNG at the Arcadis Ost 1 project. It is the first foundation installation vessel in the industry operating on LNG, significantly reducing the CO2 footprint of the operations, DEME Offshore said. ‘Orion’ is equipped with a 5,000-tonne crane and a tailor-made, motion-compensated gripper system able to handle giant foundations of up to 2,500 tonnes.
"The integrated motion compensated pile gripper tool enables the crew to upend the monopiles, which are transported horizontally on deck. Coupled with the vessel’s DP3 capability, the gripper enables the monopiles to remain vertical and stable, despite motions and waves. In the gripper several noise mitigation systems are integrated in order to reduce the underwater noise during hammering," the company explains.
"With a total installed power of 44,180 kW and at 216.5 m long, ‘Orion’ has a spacious, unobstructed deck and a dead weight that has been maximized so it can handle the heaviest monopiles, jackets, and wind turbine components," DEME Offshore said.
Bas Nekeman, DEME Offshore Business Unit Director Northern Europe, comments: “The Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm is an incredible project, given the scale of these foundations, and it requires an equally exceptional vessel, which is pushing boundaries and bringing the industry standards of innovation to a new level. It is wonderful to partner with Parkwind which also shares our vision regarding the importance of offshore wind in helping the world achieve the energy transition as soon as possible.”