In the second ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation to take place in Germany, the world’s largest LNG bunker vessel Kairos, operated by Nauticor, has supplied LNG to DEME’s next generation offshore installation vessel Orion. For the Port of Rostock, this ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation is a premiere.

The Orion is currently at the Liebherr construction yard in the Port of Rostock, where it is being outfitted with a 5000-tonne crane. The new offshore installation vessel is the fifth dual fuel addition to DEME’s fleet, following three trailing suction hopper dredgers (the Minerva, Scheldt River and Bonny River) and a cable laying vessel (Living Stone).

According to DEME, the ship-to-ship bunkering of LNG is another milestone in the construction of this game-changing vessel, which features a combination of high transport and load capacity, impressive lifting heights and green technology. With its multi-year fleet investment programme the Belgian offshore and dredging contractor aims to make continuous improvements in terms of productivity and environmental performance.

Preparing for carbon neutral fuels

‘Our recent fleet additions are unique in their market segments as the first vessels in our industry to run on LNG,’ says Bart Verboomen, Head of DEME’s Technical Department. ‘We want to make sure our fleet is future-proof and exceeds the current environmental regulations. Therefore, most of our new vessels are equipped with dual fuel engines, which are capable of running on LNG. Many of them are also already prepared for the new, carbon neutral fuels of the future and we will continue to scale up our actions to have the most energy efficient fleet in the industry.’