Van Oord’s new offshore wind installation vessel Boreas has completed its first assignment, installing 45 monopiles at Nordseecluster A, the initial phase of a 1.6-GW offshore wind farm in the German North Sea, the company said in a news release.
The project is expected to supply renewable electricity to the equivalent of 1.6 million households. Van Oord has been contracted to install a total of 105 extended monopiles for the Nordseecluster project, jointly developed by RWE (51%) and Norges Bank Investment Management (49%). With the first 45 monopiles completed, the company has reached a key milestone.
The remaining 60 monopiles will be installed in the second expansion stage, Nordseecluster B, scheduled for 2027.
Alongside the Boreas, Van Oord also used its vessel Aeolus for secondary steel installation, while flexible fallpipe vessels Stornes and Bravenes were deployed to place rocks around monopile foundations to prevent erosion from currents and waves.
Van Oord is a Dutch family-owned international marine contractor headquartered in Rotterdam, specializing in dredging, offshore wind, and marine infrastructure projects. It operates globally in marine engineering and energy transition sectors.
RWE AG is a German multinational energy company based in Essen. It is one of Europe’s leading electricity and gas suppliers, focusing increasingly on renewable energy production, including offshore and onshore wind power.
