OOS Walcheren Starts its Engines

Netherlands-based OOS International has revved up the engines on its newbuild semi-submersible heavy lift crane accommodation vessel OOS Walcheren for the first time.

The OOS Walcheren is currently under construction at China Merchants Heavy Industries (Jiangsu) Shipyard, said a press note from the Dutch offshore company .

The OOS Walcheren is the sister vessel of the OOS Serooskerke, which is presently undergoing the final stages of commissioning before heading out for sea trials. Her expected delivery is within Q1 2020.

The construction of OOS Walcheren commenced on the 24th May 2018 and it has taken 16 ½ months to start up her engines, which has bettered the OOS Serooskerke record by 10 days and less man-hours. The OOS Walcheren is on schedule with a 0.19% budget overrun.

Many valuable lessons were learnt from the construction of the OOS Serooskerke, and preparations were made to ensure a smooth start of the engines with all the support of the auxiliary systems completed.

The engine start-up would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the engineering team; without STX-MAN and the conscious efforts of the production and commissioning teams, this achievement would have been inconceivable.

The team has worked endless nights together, with great spirit and collaboration to make this milestone possible, said the release.

"The piping systems had to be thoroughly flushed out and cleaned. The electrical systems had to be systematically checked to ensure all cables were terminated correctly and safely. The ventilation systems had to be cleaned, tested and run. The paintwork of the engine room compartment was touched up. STX had to spend numerous hours on site to perform the final checks and preparations to start the engines successfully," it said.

The OOS Walcheren is equipped with a SCR system to ensure the emission meets the tier 3 requirements.