ABB has secured a contract with Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) to supply the power and propulsion package for Allseas’ new semi-submersible heavy transport vessel Grand Tour, designed for carrying offshore converter stations.
The 230-metre vessel, scheduled for delivery in 2028, will be capable of transporting loads of up to 40,000 tons on its stern deck and is designed to lower its main deck below the waterline to load large converter stations before transferring them to Allseas’ vessel Pioneering Spirit for offshore installation.
Allseas placed an order for the construction of Grand Tour with China’s GSI in September 2025.
Under its contract with GSI, ABB will deliver four 3.5 MW Azipod propulsion units, which will provide the thrust required for the vessel’s bollard-pull and dynamic positioning (DP) operations. The electrically driven units can rotate through 360 degrees, allowing Grand Tour to maneuver into position alongside Pioneering Spirit and maintain its position during load-transfer operations.
The power and propulsion package also includes a medium-voltage AC power plant in a closed-ring configuration, ABB’s PEMS power and energy management system, a power plant protection system, and remote condition-monitoring and maintenance functions. The Azipod units will use nozzles optimised for efficient operation during transit, ABB said in a press release on August 11.
Allseas is building Grand Tour to support the construction of TenneT’s 2 GW offshore wind grid connection programme, under a framework agreement from 2023, when TenneT signed multi-year agreements with Allseas and Heerema Marine Contractors for the transport and installation of its 2 GW offshore platforms.
The framework agreements will cover at least 28 slots until 2031; 14 slots for the transport and installation of jackets, and 14 slots for the transport and installation of topsides, with Heerema allocated about 60% of the slots and Allseas about 40%.
Allseas’s new vessel will transport the converter stations from fabrication facilities in Asia and Europe to their designated locations in the Dutch and German sectors of the North Sea. Designed to fit into the bow slot of Pioneering Spirit, Grand Tour will enable the transfer of the converter stations directly from the transport vessel to the installation vessel offshore.
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