The technology group Wärtsilä is to supply the engines and other propulsion machinery for DEME’s new offshore construction vessel ‘Orion’ being built at the Cosco shipyard in China.

This will be the first vessel of its kind to be fueled 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.

“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.

The 216.5 metres long ‘Orion’ will be deployed by DEME’s subsidiary GeoSea for the construction of the offshore wind farms, to service the oil and gas industry and for decommissioning of offshore installations.

The vessel 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.