Orion looked to be testing the hammer used to drive piles into the seabed. The Crane has positioned the hammer over the pile stabilizer which keeps the pile in position while the ship is dynamically positioned.
(Below)GPO Grace remains at anchor
sorry, couldn’t resit the headline
Guyot, a IMOCA 60 competing in the Ocean Race was bound for Newport RI when it was demasted in a storm. The boat made its way to Halifax after taking fuel from a container ship, and under a jury rig.
The Boat was hauled out this afternoon at Fairview Cove, and placed on a mafi, to be shipped back to Europe for repair. Given the placement on the mafi, it will likely go be shipped via ACL
BBC Arizona arrived at pier 9 to offload Airplane parts from Belfast. Componenets for various Bombardier aircraft are manufactured in a facility in Belfast, then shipped to Halifax, to be trucked for final assembly at facilities around Montreal.
These parts normally arrive on ACL vessels, so there may have been a scheduling conflict, or a lack of available space.
Given a Vessel the size of BBC Amazon could comfortable reach Montreal, it is prehaps curious parts still flow through Halifax via ACL.
The GPO Grace arrived on Saturday with Piles and transition pieces for the Vineyard Wind 1 project. The ship brought 6 sets, and tied up next to Orion.
On Monday the ship moved to anchor having transferred one pile and transition piece to the Orion.
No other movements are listed for either ship, so its unclear if Orion will load more Segments before sailing for installation
Halifax Shipping News has had a YouTube channel for a number of years now. But nothing was ever really done with it. I’ve decided to make a short explainer video on the Orion. If you like, Please like the video and Subscribe to the channel, and ill be sure to make more.
There is Some neat old stuff, such as the launches of two the Coast Guards Midshore patrol vessels. Check it out. the grainy stuff was shot on a Sony Mini DV Handicam.
A Time lapse at Fairview cove (below) shot on an iPhone5
And arrivals of other vessels. Check out the channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUr0OKTMkpaIqqmCLsXTmrA
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.
Additional Photos and updates can be found here
