The offshore installation ship Orion sailed this afternoon (May 27) on its first trip to the Vineyard Wind project site. While in Halifax the ship loaded the monopile and transition pieces for six offshore wind towers, which it will install off the Massachusetts coast.
The tower sections arrived from Spain on the heavy lift ship GPO Grace which remains in port. The Orion used its 5,000 tonne capacity crane to transfer the tower pieces to the Orion while alongside the IEL pier in Woodside, but the crane was in the lowered nested position when the ship sailed.
When in the upright position the crane boom could be seen from miles away, but there were also closer views from the Halifax side of the harbour (below) and from the ferries (above and previous posts).
The Woodside pier is a convenient staging point for the project, but there are activities in other areas as well. Another Canadian connection is in Bayside, NB where the ship Flintstone loads gravel to deliver to the Vineyard site to form a filter layer. The ship places the 1 inch to 3 inch diameter stone on the bottom using a fallpipe, precisely positioned using DP2. (dynamic positioning with satellite navigation interfeace)
More turbine components arrived May 24 in New Bedford, MA where the local ILA members have gone on strike. They are refusing to unload the heavy lift ship UHL Felicity until they receive guarantees of permanent work. The components were to be staged in New Bedford, joined and barged out to the tower sites which are roughly 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard.
The Vineyard wind project is to consist of 62 turbines, some of which are to be operational by the end of the year. Another part of the project is the offshore substation, a 3,200 ton platform supported by 4 piles and a sitting on a 2,000 ton jacket. It is now en route from Denmark on another heavy lift ship.
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