The Original Orion post detailing the ship and the project it is working on can be found here
The Top of Orion’s crane is over 400′ tall. One commentator Noted they could see the top of the crane from their house, 9km away as the crow flies.
Staging work continues, A large Crawler crane has arrived.
One one submarine based in Halifax is out of the water again for a work period. HMCS Windsor has been up on the Synchrolift for the past couple of weeks. The Shed behind the synchrolift is specifically designed to accommodate a submarine, so its unclear why the boat is not inside. This might suggest minor maintenance, rather then something more serious.
(Above) the Tanker Acadian at Anchor in the Inner harbour. (below) MSC Shay in Anchorage 1 for Asian Gypsy Moth Inspection. the ship moved to pier 41 when MSC Japan Sailed.
While MSC Shay was at Anchor, the PCTC Bess departed from autoport (Above)Offering a nice size comparison of the two ships as they passed.(Below)
The Atlantic Elm was also tied up at COVE along side the Barge Atlantic Marlin
The General Cargo Ship Endurance arrived from Cuba, and tied up at pier 27. Lacking a Significant load of Containers, its likely loaded with Nickel Sulphide “mud” . The ship is likely an extra, as it does not appear on Nirint lines Schedule.
The Offshore installation Vessel Orion arrived at the IEL Dock at woodside overnight. The Giant Main crane is rated for 5000tons. The ship joined the DEME Fleet in April 2022. if the ship looks familiar, it suffered a dramatic crane failure during testing in 2020, which went viral.
The Ship is Here to install Piles and Transition pieces for the Vineyard Wind 1 project off Martha’s Vineyard. The Piles and Transition pieces were manufactured in Spain by Windar Renovables. The pieces were then moved to the Port of Avilés, where they were loaded aboard the GPO Grace for Transport to Halifax. The Pieces are due on May 11th or 12th.
Vineyard 1 will consist of 62 GE wind turbines spaced 1 nautical mile apart. The surrounding area has also been leased to other Offshore wind developers who will be deploying Additional GE as well as Siemens turbines.
Orion will also be deployed for the installation of 176 foundations at the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Farm in the US. That project installed two trial turbines in 2020, and was staged out of Halifax. Bigroll Beaufort , arrived with components for 2 complete wind turbines. the Installation vessel Vole au Vent completed the installation off the Virginia Coast. The Fall Pipe vessel Adhemar De Saint-Venant also took part in the project.
For comparison, the Crane on Vole aux Vent is rated for 1500 tons. That ship also uses jack up legs when working.
The Port of Argentia Newfoundland has won a large contract to be a staging area for a US Offshore wind farm – though the client hasen’t been disclosed, its likely the Virgina Project.
Oh, and if you havent seen the video, here is the 2020 Failure of the Crane:
UPDATE 03/05:
Orion took bunkers from the North Altantic Kairos yesterday. Poor weather precluded photos of the operation, but the North Atlantic Kairos came alongside the vessel.
I attempted to Fly the Drone today, but the on and off rain interfered with the operation. the Orion looks to be setting up a sizable ground operation at IEL.
(Above) Drone View from the transit terminal lot. Lots of folks pulling in to look at the Orion. (Below) View through the fence from the Woodside terminal drop off area.
The CCGS Kolpit Hopson 1752 arrived back at BIO this evening. the ship has been under trials with the coast guard after completing an extensive refit.
Tropic Hope riding the hook. the ship arrived on the weekend, and is due to move to pier 42 Tuesday morning. Pier41/42 remained empty today – high winds and the exposed location likely would have made for difficult cargo handling.
The products tanker North Atlantic Kairos took to the anchorage on arrival from Come By Chance Newfoundland. North Atlantic operates as a distributor for Fuel Products. The ship is scheduled to spend Tuesday at IEL, which is currently occupied by the Offshore Construction Vessel Orion. It seems likely the tanker will be bunkering the Oriorn.
If the North Atlantic Kairos looks familiar, it is a twin of the Algoma Dartmouth, which served as a bunkering tanker in Halifax until November 2018, when it moved to Saint John on a Charter to Irving.
North Atlantic Refining, was the operator of the Come by Chance refinery. the company was sold, and the refinery was recently converted to produce biofuel diesel, and is Operated by Braya Renewable fuels
The General Cargo ship FWN Atlantic tied up at pier 25 sunday. the ship is almost brand new, and arrived from Hamina Finland. Hamina Happens to be home to a wind turbine factory.
The Ship is outfitted with Dynamic positioning, and equipped to handle pipe, so may be in town in relation to the Presence of the Offshore Installation Vessel Orion.
