Van Oord's brand new offshore installation vessel, Boreas, has successfully been handed over during a festive ceremony at the Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd shipyard in China. Named after the Greek god of the Northern winds, the Boreas 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, measures 175m in length, and has a 155m high boom, which can lift more than 3000t. Four giant legs, each measuring 126m, allow the vessel to be jacked up and work in waters up to 70m deep. Therefore, it will be able to install up to 20MW offshore wind turbines at sea.

To meet the clean and environmental emissions requirements, the vessel is equipped with methanol storage tanks and five methanol dual-fuel main engines, which can reduce the carbon footprint of the ship by more than 78%. In addition, the project will be equipped with a selective catalytic reduction unit to minimise nitrogen oxide emissions, which can improve energy efficiency and reduce operational fuel consumption.

Not only is the Boreas, which was completed in just 10 months, equipped with nearly 1 million metres of cable laying, it is also the most automated wind power installation ship so far and is the world's first project that truly realises hybrid power of oil and electricity, the battery system has achieved a breakthrough in being able to fully cover the functions of one main engine for the first time.

Harold Linssen, director Ship Management Department at Van Oord, said: "The delivery of the Boreas marks a major milestone for Van Oord. I am pleased to celebrate this together with all those who contributed to the construction of the vessel in China. We are looking forward to welcoming this beautiful vessel to our fleet!"

Zhao Hui, vice president of CIMC Raffles Group, added: "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."

Boreas is a benchmark for the whole offshore wind industry for many years to come

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.