(Above) the Pile hammer suspended above the Pile gripper. (Below) The First pile has been moved into the gripper. The gripper is designed to hold the pile in position while the ship moves around it via its dynamic positioning system.
UPDATE May 26:
GPO Grace was scheduled to shift alongside Orion today, but is now headed back to the Anchorage at 11:30. GPO Grace went back alongside Orion yesterday. GPO Sapphire is currently in Aviles Spain, to load the next 6 Piles and Transition Pieces. No ETA for Halifax yet.
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.
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
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 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.
Polar circle is an Ice breaking tug. the ship was previously under contract to a Russian Oil and Gas Company, but with sanctions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the owners cancelled the charter.
The Polar Circle was built in 2006, and is registered in Cyprus.
The ship sailed through the Panama Canal, and was last in New York, sailing for Halifax September 21 to Halifax. Given the ship has no work, they took a leisurely sail, arriving Oct 7th. After spending a day alongside, the tug move to anchor in the basin, where it is presumably looking for employment.
IT Telecom looks to have acquired another Offshore vessel for conversion to do cable work. The IT Infinity was previously Standard Princess, and worked out of Aberdeen Scotland. At the end of may, the ship sailed for Cape Canaveral in Florida, departing for Halifax on the 13th.
the ship was built by Vard in 2008. The large crane looks to be a recent addition, as pictures on MarineTraffic.com don’t show the crane while in Scotland.
