The world’s first LNG fuelled offshore construction vessel being built for DEME will be powered by Wärtsilä (illustration: DEME)

The technology group Wärtsilä is to supply the engines and other propulsion machinery for a new offshore construction vessel being built at the Cosco shipyard in China. The ship owner is Belgian operator Dredging International (DEME). This will be the first vessel of its kind to be fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and in addition to the dual-fuel engines, Wärtsilä will also provide its LNGPac fuel storage and supply system and propulsion systems. The orders with Wärtsilä were booked in the fourth quarter of 2016 and in February 2017.

“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,” says Jan Gabriel, Head of newbuilding and conversion department at DEME.

“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,” says Arthur Boogaard, General Manager, Business Development Special Vessels at Wärtsilä.

This 210 metre long vessel, the Orion, will be powered by four 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 46DF dual-fuel electric propulsion engines, and two 6-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engines. Wärtsilä will also supply two custom-made retractable thrusters, four underwater demountable thrusters, the Wärtsilä LNGPac storage and supply system, as well as commissioning, site supervision and extended project management services. The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yard in the latter part of 2017.

The Orion is expected to be delivered to the owners in 2018 and will undertake operations involving the installation of offshore windfarms in locations around the world.

DEME is a long-standing customer of Wärtsilä and has, in recent years, utilised Wärtsilä solutions for numerous vessels, including three hopper dredgers, a cable installation vessel, a cutter suction dredger vessel, as well as the ‘Orion’ offshore construction vessel.

Tags: COSCO Shipyard, Dredging International (DEME), Wärtsilä