Van Oord Takes Delivery of World’s Largest Wind Turbine Installation Vessel

Dutch marine contractor Van Oord has taken delivery of the world’s largest wind turbine installation vessel, Boreas. Van Oord took delivery of the vessel during a festive ceremony at the Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore shipyard in China. 

The Boreas, which is named after the Greek god of the Northern winds, has been purpose built to facilitate the transport and installation of the next generation of turbines (and their associated foundations) at offshore wind farms. 

Measuring 175-metres in length, and with a 155-metre-high boom - which can lift more than 3,000 tonnes - the Boreas will be the largest vessel of its kind once it enters operation. 

With four giant legs - each measuring 126-metres - the Boreas will be able to work in waters up to 70-metres deep. This capability will allow the vessel to install some of the biggest 20 MW offshore wind turbines. 

All of this scale doesn’t necessarily come at the expense of the planet, either. The Boreas has been designed to operate on methanol, reducing the ship’s carbon footprint by a massive 78%. 

Commenting on the new vessel, Harold Linssen, the director of the ship management department at Van Oord, said: 

“The delivery of the Boreas marks a major milestone for Van Oord. I am pleased to celebrate this together with all those who contributed to the construction of the vessel in China. We are looking forward to welcoming this beautiful vessel to our fleet!”

Zhao Hui of CIMC Raffles Group echoed Linssen’s comment, saying:

“We’re happy to work together with Van Oord and deliver the state-of-the-art vessel Boreas. Undoubtedly Boreas is a benchmark for the whole offshore wind industry for many years to come and will play a significant role for the transportation and installation of the next generation of foundations and up to 20 MW offshore wind turbines at sea. I’m grateful to Van Oord and all the parties and people who worked on this project. Together, we have achieved this great milestone”.

Final outfitting works on the Boreas will be undertaken in the Netherlands before the vessel goes into operation. 

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