The Boreas is part of Van Oord’s preparation for the increase in scale in the offshore wind industry. Upon completion it will be the largest vessel of its kind: it is 175 metres long. Huismann has supplied the vessel’s main, leg-encircling, crane, and this too will be the largest of its kind that Huisman has developed to date, in terms of lifting capacity, and of boom length, and of installed power. Its 155-metre-high boom is able to lift over 3,200 tonnes. The system is fully electrically driven, giving high positioning accuracy; the new slew bearing system, developed in-house, increases this. The energy grid provides reduced maintenance and lessens the energy consumption of the crane significantly
The boom’s unique design makes it stiff and lighter in weight, leading to reduced motion at the crane tip, and a small tail swing optimises free deck space.
The vessel has also an auxiliary hoist, of 500t capacity, and two auxiliary telescopic cranes which are supplied by MacGregor. One is a 27.5t 45m machine the other 17.5t with a 42m reach. They will be used to transport the cargo and for load handling during the installation of wind turbines in the offshore environment and are equipped with an anti-collision system. Four legs, each of 126 metres, allow the vessel to be jacked up and work in waters up to 70 metres deep. It will therefore be able to install the next generation of 20 MW offshore wind turbines at sea.
The Boreas is itself part of the energy transition, being the first of its kind to be able to run on the future fuel methanol, which will reduce the ship’s carbon footprint by more than 78 percent. A battery pack of about 6,000 kWh can take peak loads and regenerate energy to reduce the fuel consumption and corresponding emissions even further.
