Van Oord christens new offshore installation vessel

Van Oord formally named its newest offshore installation vessel during a ceremony in Rotterdam on Wednesday, June 18.

Built by Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Engineering in China, Boreas will be used primarily for the transport and installation of foundations and turbines of up to 20 MW capacity at offshore wind farms.

The vessel has a length of 175 metres, a 155-metre-tall crane able to lift 3,000 tonnes, and four 126-metre legs that will permit installation works at water depths of up to 70 metres.

To reduce emissions during operations, the vessel relies on a 6,000kWh battery pack, a dual-fuel engine that can run on methanol, and selective catalytic reduction technology. The battery will be able to take peak loads and regenerate energy to reduce the vessel's fuel consumption and corresponding emissions even further.

Boreas will soon head to its first offshore wind project, the Nordseecluster development in the German North Sea. Van Oord’s scope includes the installation of 104 extended monopiles as well as scour protection.

The 1.6GW wind farm cluster is expected to generate enough renewable energy to supply the equivalent of 1.6 million German households.