Van Oord’s Next-Gen Newbuild to Install Nordseecluster Foundations

April 26, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Van Oord has been selected as the preferred supplier for the transport and installation of foundations for RWE and Northland Power’s 1.6 GW Nordseecluster offshore wind project in Germany.

For this work, Van Oord will deploy its brand-new offshore installation vessel Boreas which is currently being built by Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard (YCRO) in China.

The new 175-metre vessel is purpose-built for the transport and installation of next-generation of foundations and turbines at offshore wind farms. It has an advanced jacking system and can lift more than 3,000 tonnes.

In addition, its four giant legs, each measuring 126 metres, will allow the vessel to be jacked up and work in waters up to 70 metres deep.

The vessel will be able to run on the future fuel methanol, reducing the ship’s carbon footprint by more than 78 per cent, said Van Oord.

Van Oord’s Boreas will work on Nordseecluster offshore wind project located in the German North Sea, 35 kilometres north of Juist Island and 55 kilometres off the German coast.

The Nordseecluster will be constructed in two phases, Nordseecluster A and Nordseecluster B, each comprising two offshore wind farms.

The two Nordseecluster A wind farms (N-3.8 and N-3.7), which have a combined capacity of 660 MW, are currently in the permit application phase. The first phase will comprise 44 Vestas 15 MW wind turbines and is scheduled for commercial operation in early 2027.

For the 900 MW Nordseecluster B, RWE and Northland Power plan to secure the two sites (N-3.6 and N-3.5) by bidding and exercising the step-in rights in the German offshore wind auctions this year, as they did for the Nordseecluster A sites in 2021. This second phase is planned to be built by 2029.