Dong Fang Offshore launches Orient Trailblazer hull in Romania, delivery set for Q2 2027

Dong Fang Offshore (DFO) launched the hull of its first newbuild offshore subsea construction vessel, Orient Trailblazer, at VARD's shipyard in Brăila, Romania on 21 August 2026^[1]. The hull - designated NB 988 - will now be towed to Vard Søviknes in Norway for final outfitting and commissioning, with delivery to DFO scheduled for Q2 2027^[1], ahead of operations in Taiwan.

What the vessel is

Orient Trailblazer is based on the VARD 3 39 design, described by VARD as a hybrid-ready subsea construction platform. Its principal dimensions and capabilities are:

• 121.3 m long and 23 m wide, with accommodation for up to 130 people in 90 cabins
• A 250-tonne active heave-compensated offshore crane and a 1,200 m² work deck
• DP2 station-keeping, ROV hangars on both sides, and a maximum speed of 14 knots
• Design readiness for a motion-compensated gangway, under-deck carousel, helideck, and large trencher

The vessel is intended to support subsea construction, offshore wind maintenance, cable installation, and cable repair. It is DFO's first newbuild OSCV; the company's earlier VARD orders were for commissioning service operation vessels (CSOVs).

Build timeline and contract

Steel cutting for NB 988 took place at Vard Brăila in September 2025, followed by keel laying on 21 November 2025. The contract, announced in April 2025, was valued at €113.5 million with options. VARD's integrated value chain - design in Norway, hull construction in Romania, completion in Norway - is the same model used for several recent offshore construction vessels at the group's Brăila yard, which is part of the Fincantieri group^[1].

Where it fits in DFO's fleet build-out

The Orient Trailblazer is one of several vessels DFO has ordered or chartered in quick succession as Taiwan's offshore wind pipeline expands. The company also has a separate cable lay vessel (CLV) on order at Norwegian yard Westcon, with delivery targeted for Q1 2027, replacing installation capacity lost in Taiwan after DeepOcean exercised its option to keep DFO's Orient Adventurer working in Europe through 2028, with further options to 2031. Two Taiwan-flagged CSOVs were due for delivery in Q4 2026, one of them chartered by Vestas for the Changfang-Xidao and Zhong Neng wind farms.

DFO describes itself as one of Asia's largest offshore wind service providers, with a fleet spanning CLVs, construction support vessels, SOVs, crew transfer vessels, and survey and anchor-handling assets. The Orient Trailblazer, once delivered, will be the most capable vessel in that fleet by crane capacity and deck area.

What to watch

The Q2 2027 delivery window puts Orient Trailblazer on the water as Taiwan's third-phase offshore wind projects move toward construction. Whether DFO secures a named contract for the vessel before delivery - as it did with the Orient Adventurer and the Vestas-chartered CSOV - will be the clearest signal of how tightly the Taiwan market has absorbed the new capacity.