Van Oord celebration in China: handover of the world's largest offshore installation vessel

Rotterdam-based maritime service provider Van Oord has handed over the newly built offshore installation vessel ‘Boreas’ at a ceremony at the Chinese shipyard Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore. The vessel is intended for the transport and installation of the next generation of foundations and turbines on offshore wind farms. According to Van Oord, the new ship will be the largest of its kind in the world once it is operational.

The ‘Boreas’ is not yet completely finished. The ship is being prepared to sail to the Netherlands, where the final finishing work will take place, according to Van Oord. ‘This also includes the installation of equipment for the storage and processing of the foundations of wind turbines.’ The christening of the ship will also only take place in the Netherlands. Van Oord expects the ‘Boreas’ to be able to really get to work in the third quarter of this year.

But the fact that the ship is now almost ready to come to the Netherlands was reason for a festive gathering at the shipyard in China, according to Van Oord: ‘After an intensive construction period, colleagues, partners and suppliers came together to celebrate this special milestone.’

The ‘Boreas’, named after the Greek god of the north wind, is 175 meters long and has a 155-meter-high boom that can lift more than 3,000 tons. Thanks to four giant jackup legs of 126 meters each, the ship can be used in water depths of up to 70 meters, according to Van Oord. ‘This will allow it to install up to 20 MW of offshore wind turbines at sea.’ According to the Rotterdam-based company, the ship is also the first of its kind that can sail on the ‘future fuel methanol, reducing the ship’s footprint by more than 78%’.

Zhao Hui, vice president of CIMCRaffles Group, describes the new vessel as ‘undoubtedly a benchmark for the entire offshore wind industry for the coming years’. “It will play an important role in the transport and installation of the next generation of foundations and up to 20 MW offshore wind turbines,” said the management member of the Chinese yard.

It has been known for some time what the first big job for the ‘Boreas’ will be: it will be used in a large wind turbine project north of the German Wadden Island of Juist, in the North Sea. Van Oord will install a total of 104 foundations for wind turbines there in the coming years.