The Dutch specialist shipping company Van Oord has taken delivery of the “Boreas” from the Chinese shipyard Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore.
The record-breaking ship has a carrying capacity of over 3,000 tons. Initial operations are already planned. The “Boreas” was built specifically for the transportation and installation of the next generation of foundations and turbines. With a length of 175 metres and a 155 metres long boom, it will be the largest vessel of its kind. Four legs, each 126 metres long, allow the “Boreas” to be jacked up so that it can work in waters up to 70 metres deep. This means it can install up to 20 MW offshore wind turbines at sea.
“Boreas” has dual-fuel propulsion
The “Boreas” is also the first ship of its kind to be able to run on the alternative fuel methanol. According to Van Oord, this will reduce the ship’s ecological footprint by more than 78%.
“The delivery of the Boreas is an important milestone for Van Oord,” said Harold Linssen, Director Ship Management Department. “I am delighted to celebrate this together with everyone involved in the construction of the ship in China. We look forward to welcoming this beautiful ship to our fleet!’
Zhao Hui, Vice President of CIMC Raffles Group, added: “We are delighted to be working with Van Oord to deliver the state-of-the-art vessel ‘Boreas’.” The new vessel will “undoubtedly” play an important role in the transportation and installation of the next generation of foundations and offshore wind turbines of up to 20 MW at sea.
The vessel is now being prepared for its passage to the Netherlands, where the final outfitting work will take place. This includes the installation of equipment for the storage and handling of the wind turbine foundations. The official christening will also take place there.
The ship is expected to enter service in the third quarter of 2025. The first deployment will be in the German North Sea, where the ship will be responsible for the transportation and installation of monopile foundations in the so-called North Sea cluster of the German energy company RWE.
