Acta Orion reveals impressive uptime stats at Gemini

Acta Orion carried out construction support duties for client Van Oord’s EPCI work on the 600 MW wind farm. Acta Marine also mobilised three of its Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) to fulfil the contract.

Located in Dutch waters of the Southern North Sea, Gemini is currently the largest offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. It comprises 150 turbines, each with a 4 MW capacity.

Acta Marine deployed Acta Orion and two 21-metre CTVs to provide personnel and cargo transfers to the turbine platforms under construction. Acta Orion also served as an in-field accommodation vessel throughout the project, with an average of 50 client personnel on board at any given time. Acta Marine’s 24-passenger CTV Offshore Wielingen was used to transfer offshore crews between Acta Orion and shore.

Despite the challenges posed by Gemini’s distance from shore (85 km) Acta Marine’s logistics spread allowed Van Oord’s on-site team to maintain high operational availability by providing offshore refueling CTV spread. CTV landings on the leeward side of Acta Orion could take place in significant wave heights of 2.0-2.5 metres (landings against regular vessels are typically limited to approximately 1.3-1.5 metres). A total of 1,100 CTV landings were performed in the duration of the project.

Furthermore, Acta Orion’s Ampelmann E-1000 gangway also contributed to 24/7 productivity of the project. 2,576 gangway landings (accounting for more than 10,000 personnel transfers) and more than 750 motion compensated cargo lifts of up to 1,000 kg took place via the gangway.

For the Gemini contract Acta Orion operated 24/7 for a total of 385 days, from Aug 2015 – Sep 2016. This highlights the year-round capabilities of Acta Marine’s new 108-metre long vessel. In March and April, for example, the vessel achieved 95% availability. Even during the harshest winter months (January and February), Acta Orion still offered an impressive 60% availability.