Van Oord lengthening Aeolus boom for heavier wind turbine lifts

Sept. 28, 2022
Van Oord has commissioned an upgrade to the crane on its Aeolus offshore installation vessel.

Offshore staff

ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands  Van Oord has commissioned an upgrade to the crane on its Aeolus offshore installation vessel.

The new, 133-m-long boom, designed by Huisman, should allow the vessel to handle larger turbines of up to 15 MW for offshore wind projects.

Following the modifications, Aeolus should be ready for duty, capable of installing the new generation turbines while retaining its lifting capacity of 1,600 t for foundation installations.

Van Oord has also ordered two new vessels for the offshore wind sector.

The 175-m long jackup vessel Boreas, under construction in China, will be able to run on methanol and install wind turbines of up to 20 MW, with a lifting capacity of more than 3,000 metric tons. Boreas should be ready for service in 2024.

Calypso is a new DP2 cable-lay vessel with a below-deck cable carousel and a second carousel on deck, with a total cable-carrying capacity of 8,000 metric tons.

The hybrid-fuel vessel will be able to run on biofuel, with built-in flexibility to accommodate future e-fuels. It will have a large battery pack, a shore-supply power connection and an energy management system.

9/28/2022