Van Oord’s heavy lift installation vessel reaching for the sky

In just a night, Van Oord’s heavy lift installation vessel Svanen grew 25 metres taller.

Van Oord concluded 2023 with strong results:

Revenue reached record high and profits more than doubled

Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 21 November 2023 – Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel Aeolus successfully installed the first of 12 turbines at the South Fork offshore wind farm. South Fork is the first offshore wind project in the State of New York,? a contribution to meeting the state’s ambitious clean energy and climate goals.??

Van Oord has been awarded two new offshore wind projects: Baltic Power in the Baltic Sea and Greater Changhua 2b and 4 in Taiwan. The contracts have a combined value of more than EUR 500 million. Once operational, the two offshore wind farms will deliver renewable energy to approximately 2.5 million households.

Van Oord has completed the installation of 62 jacket foundations at the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm. The Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm is being constructed in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, 16.3 kilometres off the coast of Brittany. It is the first wind farm in France with jacket foundations. Once operational, the 496MW wind farm will generate enough clean energy for 835,000 inhabitants.

After Van Oord’s heavy lift installation vessel Svanen completed installation of all fifty monopiles for Iberdrola Deutschland’s Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm, Van Oord now continues installing transition pieces and starts cable installation. This week the inter-array cable loading onto Van Oord’s cable-laying vessel Nexus has commenced.

Ecowende and Van Oord will collaborate on the construction of the offshore wind farm on Hollandse Kust (west) lot VI. This will be the most ecological wind farm yet, with minimal impact on the natural habitat of birds, bats and marine mammals, and with a thriving underwater world.

Van Oord has completed installing and burying inter-array cables at CrossWind’s Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind park, bringing it a step closer to being fully operational by the end of this year.

Van Oord’s heavy-lift installation vessel Svanen has installed the first of 50 monopiles for the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm. In addition to the transport and installation of the wind turbine foundations, Van Oord is responsible for the supply, transport and installation of approximately 70 kilometres of inter-array cables.

Recently Van Oord christened two new dual fuel trailing suction hopper dredgers, which are built to run on the more sustainable LNG. Now Van Oord takes another big step towards implementing the fuels of the future.

The final monopile for CrossWind’s Hollandse Kust Noord wind farm was successfully installed by Van Oord this week, bringing the total to 70. The offshore wind farm is located 18.5 kilometres off the coast of the Netherlands, near the seaside resort of Egmond aan Zee. Once finished it will have a total installed capacity of 759 MW, generating at least 3.3 TWh per year. This is enough renewable electricity to meet 2.8% of the Netherlands’ electricity demand. The monopiles are the foundations for the wind turbines. The first monopile was installed less than four months ago, on October 17th 2022.

Four oyster tables – structures made of concrete and other material on which live oysters are placed – have been installed at Luchterduinen wind farm. By placing the oyster tables there, the Rich North Sea programme, energy company Eneco and marine contractor Van Oord are working to restore oyster reefs in the Dutch North Sea. The oyster tables feature an innovative design, the result of four years of research. This is the first time the design has ever been used in practice, giving the wind farm a global premiere.

Van Oord’s new cable-laying vessel Calypso is on its way to the Vard Brattvaag yard in Norway for construction finishing, after a successful and safe launch at the Vard Tulcea shipyard in Romania, last week. This next-generation, custom-built vessel will be a key strategic addition to Van Oord’s offshore wind fleet, being equipped with the latest sustainable technologies. Construction is progressing well on schedule and the vessel is expected to be operational from the end of 2023 on.

Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel Aeolus will get a major crane upgrade. By installing a new, longer boom on Aeolus’ existing crane, the vessel will be ready to handle the newest generation up to 15 MW turbines for offshore wind projects. Van Oord decided to upgrade the Aeolus to ensure that the vessel remains competitive in a rapidly changing market and, in particular, the increase in turbines sizes.

The consortium between Van Oord and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD) has been selected by Empire Offshore Wind, a joint venture between Equinor and bp, as main contractors for subsea rock installation works related to the development of Empire Wind I & II. This offshore wind development, located on the East Coast of the United States of America, is an important step towards providing renewable energy to the state of New York.

Van Oord has ordered a new offshore installation vessel to further strengthen its market position in offshore wind. The jack-up vessel can operate on methanol and install up to 20 MW wind turbines at sea with a very low CO2 footprint. The investment is in line with the increasing global demand for offshore wind farms. The ship is expected to enter the market in 2024.

After extensive preparations, offshore installation vessel Aeolus is starting the installation of the first of 62 jacket foundations for the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm project. The wind farm is located 16,3 kilometres off the coast of Brittany and has a total capacity of 496 MW. Before installing the very first pin-piles for the jacket foundation this month, the Aeolus was upgraded and an extensive spread of project-specific installation equipment was placed on deck.

Following the announcement that RWE has reached a financial investment decision for Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, Van Oord is pleased to confirm that it has been contracted for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of the monopile foundations and array cables for this project. The 1.4 GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm is one of the world’s largest offshore wind projects.

Two Towers, consisting of Van Oord, Investri Offshore and Green Giraffe, announced that the innovative Borssele Wind Farm Site V has been fully commissioned. Borssele V features two Vestas 9.5 MW turbines, generating sufficient energy to provide renewable energy to 25,000 Dutch households.

Van Oord has launched the Climate Risk Overview, a global online tool that combines multiple data layers and enables users to identify the world’s most-at-risk coastal areas. The tool is in the public domain and anyone can use it. Van Oord unveiled the new tool during the international Climate Adaptation Summit (CAS) 2021.

Van Oord, as part of Two Towers, takes the next step in a research programme relating to the restoration of European flat oyster beds. To investigate methods for the development of oyster reefs at offshore locations, a total of eight reef structures with oysters will be installed underwater within the Borssele Wind Farm Site V in the North Sea.

Last week Van Oord’s heavy lift vessel Svanen successfully installed the final foundation for the Danish Kriegers Flak Offshore Wind farm in the Baltic Sea.

Ørsted and Van Oord have successfully installed all 94 array cables connecting the turbines of Borssele I & II offshore wind farm. The installation started, ahead of schedule, in February this year.

Van Oord’s heavy lift vessel Svanen has arrived at the Danish Kriegers Flak Offshore Wind field in the Baltic Sea. The Svanen will commence its installation works for the foundations for the offshore wind farm.

On 25 April, the Slip Joint foundation was successfully installed at the Borssele Wind Farm Site V. It is the first time anywhere that a submerged Slip Joint was used on a full-sized offshore wind turbine on a fully commercial basis.

Van Oord and Saare Wind Energy have agreed to combine their forces and mutually develop the Saaremaa offshore wind farm. Saare Wind Energy is an Estonian developer involved in developing the offshore wind farm, covering 154 square kilometres, south-west of the Estonian island Saaremaa.

Van Oord and NYK have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly own and operate offshore wind installation vessels under the Japanese flag. The collaboration is using Van Oord’s technical and operational expertise in offshore wind and NYK Group’s knowledge of the Japanese market.

Van Oord has been awarded the contract by Ørsted for the cable installation works at the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind farms. The wind farms are located between 35 and 60 kilometres off the west coast of Changhua County, Taiwan. Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind farms will supply sustainable energy to approximately 1 million households per year.

Van Oord and Mammoet enter into promising cooperation with scale-up Verton

Creating an efficient and safe way to install wind turbine blades

Van Oord has installed more than 40 kilometres of inter array cables for the 269 MW Deutsche Bucht offshore wind farm. These cables form the connection between the turbines and the offshore substation and enable smooth dispatch and transfer of electricity to the mainland.