Hollandse Kust transformer topside close to departure for North Sea wind project

May 15, 2025

The topside is scheduled to leave the Dutch port on May 17 on a floating pontoon via the Scheldt and the Western Scheldt waterways toward the North Sea.

Jeremy Beckman

TenneT — Transported on a floating pontoon, the structure will travel via the Scheldt and Western Scheldt estuaries toward the North Sea.

Following the load-out on May 3, the topside for the Hollandse Kust (west Beta) transformer platform will depart the port of Hoboken near Antwerp on May 17.

It will be transported on a floating pontoon, which will sail via the Scheldt and Western Scheldt waterways toward the North Sea, past Vlissingen to the offshore location that is 50 km from the coast of Egmond an Zee.

Once Heerema Marine Contractors’ Sleipnir vessel has completed a current program in UK waters, it will sail to North Holland to install the +3,500-metric-ton topside on the jacket, which was set down on the seafloor last May.

Upon arrival, Sleipnir’s crane will lift the 45-m-long, 20-m-wide, 25-m-tall structure from the floating pontoon for the installation, followed by welding together of the topside and jacket. The 700-MW platform, the third constructed for TenneT by the Equans/Smulders consortium, will later be connected via undersea cables to the Dutch grid.

About the Author

Jeremy Beckman | Editor, Europe

Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.