The wind farm support vessel Acta Orion was successfully delivered by CIG Shipbuilding to Acta Marine, a subsidiary of the dredging company Van Oord. Piet Brouwer Electrotechnology realised the design, engineering, supply and construction of the complete electrical system on this 108-metre vessel, including the diesel-electric propulsion. The latter was designed and delivered in cooperation with Piet Brouwer’s partner D&A electric from Ridderkerk. And the software engineers from subsidiary company Marble Automation supplied and programmed Acta Orion’s alarm system.
The sea trials were very successful: the propulsion system was found to be quieter, more economical and more powerful than calculated beforehand. After the stringent testing regime, project manager Lub Visser (supported by Jan Brands and Mark Heldoorn) was able to hand over the electrical system without any warranty issues and to the total satisfaction of the yard CIG and shipping company Acta Marine.
Acta Orion has now been deployed in the construction of the Gemini Wind Farm, which is being built 85 kilometres off the coast of the province of Groningen and expected to be fully operational in 2017. A total of 150 wind turbines are being installed here, divided into two adjacent wind farms (explaining the name ‘Gemini’, which means ‘twins’ in Latin).
Acta Orion is a so-called walk-to-work (W2W) vessel, designed specifically for work on wind farms. As such, she offers comfortable accommodation and working space for 80 people. Solid engineering and hull construction ensure that the vessel is highly seaworthy, even in rough seas – she is specially designed for the relatively harsh conditions on the North Sea.
Containers of 10, 20 or 40 feet can be placed on board Acta Orion on two levels below decks and above the hatches on the upper deck. The vessel is equipped with two landing sites for so-called crew transfer vessels, i.e. smaller boats that bring engineers to and from the wind turbines. In addition, CIG equipped her with a heave compensated gangway by Ampelmann, which allows for safe and efficient transfer of engineers and equipment between the vessel and the wind turbines.