The brand new offshore installation vessel Boreas has successfully been handed over to Van Oord during a festive ceremony at the Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd. shipyard in China. After an intensive construction period, colleagues, partners and suppliers came together to celebrate this special milestone.
The Boreas, named after the Greek god of the Northern winds, is purpose-built for the transport and installation of the next generation of foundations and turbines at offshore wind farms. The vessel will be the largest of its kind once operational. It measures 175 metres in length and has a 155-metre-high boom, which can lift more than 3,000 tonnes. Four giant legs, each measuring 126 metres, allow the vessel to be jacked up and work in waters up to 70 metres deep. Therefore, it will be able to install up to 20 MW offshore wind turbines at sea. The vessel is the first of its kind with the ability to operate on the future fuel methanol, reducing the ship’s footprint by more than 78%.
The Boreas will now be prepared to sail to the Netherlands, where the final outfitting works will take place. This includes the installation of equipment for storing and handling the foundations of wind turbines. The vessel will also be christened there. The Boreas is expected to be commercially available in the third quarter of 2025.
Mr. Zhao Hui, Vice President of CIMC Raffles Group: ‘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 20MW 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.’