Van Oord Boreas Dual Fuel Methanol WTIV is the Largest Investment in Van Oord history

Van Oord's new offshore wind installation vessel Boreas was officially christened earlier this year in Rotterdam by Ms. Carola Schouten, the mayor of Rotterdam. Named after the Greek god of the Northern winds, Boreas is purpose-built for the transport and installation of next-generation foundations and turbines for offshore wind farms.

The vessel measures 175m long and its crane has a 155-m-high boom, able to lift more than 3,000 tons. With this new vessel, Van Oord is ready for future increases in scale in the offshore wind industry, as it can install offshore wind turbines of more than 20 MW.

“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,” said Govert van Oord, CEO, Van Oord. “With the Boreas being able to operate on methanol, we have added a new chapter to our net-zero emissions journey.”

Boreas is a sustainable frontrunner in the industry, being the first vessel of its kind equipped with dual fuel-methanol engines. Operating on methanol reduces its carbon footprint by over 78%. Additionally, the vessel features Selective Catalytic Reduction to minimize nitrogen oxide emissions, and a battery pack of more than 6,000 kW-hours, which helps further reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

After the christening ceremony Boreas headed to its first offshore wind project, the Nordseecluster in the German North Sea, a joint venture between RWE (51%) and Norges Bank Management Investment (49%). Van Oord’s scope includes the installation of 104 extended monopiles as well as scour protection. The 1.6-GW wind-farm cluster is expected to generate enough renewable energy to supply the equivalent of 1,600,000 German households.