CIMC Delivers World's Biggest Wind Turbine Installation Vessel

Dutch offshore services contractor Van Oord has taken delivery of a new wind turbine installation vessel to keep up with the changing offshore wind sector. The company is anticipating an increase in scale in the offshore wind industry and believes the addition of the newbuild Boreas to its fleet will cement its competitive edge.

Constructed at the Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd. shipyard in China, Boreas is purpose-built for the transport and installation of the next generation of foundations and turbines at offshore wind farms. The dual fuel engine vessel is expected to be the largest of its kind once operational, and is named after the Greek god of the Northern winds.

Measuring 175 meters with a 155-meter-high boom, the vessel will have the capability to lift more than 3,000 tonnes while her four giant legs - each measuring 126 meters - will allow the vessel to be jacked up for work in waters up to 70 meters deep.

With these outsize dimensions, Boreas will be able to install turbines of up to 20 MW. The ship is also methanol-ready, and running on the green fuel would reduce its carbon footprint by more than 78 percent.

The vessel is also equipped with a cutting-edge active emissions control technology that will reduce NOx emission to an absolute minimum. A battery pack of about 6,000 kWh will be able to take peak loads and regenerate energy to reduce the fuel consumption and corresponding emissions even further.

Following the completion of its construction in China, Boreas is now being prepared to sail to the Netherlands for final outfitting works, which will include the installation of equipment for storing and handling the foundations of wind turbines. The vessel is expected to be commercially available in the third quarter of this year.

The company has said it intends to deploy the vessel to transport and install 104 monopile foundations for the Nordseecluster offshore wind project in Germany that is being developed by RWE. Some 44 monopiles are planned for installation this year and the remaining 60 in 2027. The 1.6 GW wind farm will generate enough renewable energy to supply the equivalent of 1.6 million households. 

“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,” said Zhao Hui, CIMC Raffles Group Vice President.

Van Oord has been assembling specialized offshore wind assets to cement its competitiveness in the industry. These include the Aeolus, a vessel that is purpose-built to transport and install foundations and offshore wind turbines; and Nexus and Calypso, two cable-layers designed for challenging tasks. Van Oord’s unique heavy lift installation vessel Svanen is one of the largest crane vessels in the world.