Van Oord has held a christening ceremony for its offshore wind installation vessel Boreas in Rotterdam.
Purpose built for the transport and installation of next-generation foundations and turbines for offshore wind farms, the vessel measures 175 m in length and its crane has a 155 m-high boom, able to lift over 3,000 tonnes.
Van Oord said that not only will it be able to install offshore wind turbines of more than 20 MW, Boreas will also be the largest and most sustainable offshore wind installation vessel in the world. It is equipped with dual fuel-methanol engines; selective catalytic reduction to minimise nitrogen oxide emissions; and a battery pack of more than 6,000 KW-hours, which helps further reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
When operating on methanol, the carbon footprint of the vessel is reduced by over 78 percent.
Govert van Oord, ceo of Van Oord, said: “The Boreas is the largest investment in our company’s history, a testament to our ambition to remain a frontrunner in offshore wind, accelerate the energy transition and perform our work responsibly. We lead our industry in adopting more sustainable green marine fuels; now, with the Boreas being able to operate on methanol, we have added a new chapter to our net-zero emissions journey.”
Boreas will soon head to its first offshore wind project, the 1.6 GW Nordseecluster in the German North Sea, a joint venture between RWE and Norges Bank Management Investment. Van Oord’s scope includes the installation of 104 extended monopiles as well as scour protection.
