Wärtsilä to power DEME’s LNG-fueled offshore construction vessel

Wärtsilä of Finland said it will supply the engines and other propulsion machinery for a new LNG-fueled offshore construction vessel being built at the Cosco shipyard in China.

The ship owner is Belgian operator Dredging International (DEME), and according to Wärtsilä, this will be the first vessel of its kind to be fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

In addition to the dual-fuel engines, Wärtsilä will also provide its LNGPac fuel storage and supply system and propulsion systems.

This 210-meter 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 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.