Van Oord christens Boreas

The Boreas was christened by Carola Schouten, the mayor of Rotterdam. Guests and Van Oord employees gathered to celebrate this memorable moment. Once it is operational, the Boreas will be the largest and most sustainable offshore wind installation vessel in the world.

The Boreas, named after the Greek god of the Northern winds, is purpose-built for the transport and installation of next-generation foundations and turbines for offshore wind farms. The vessel measures 175 m in length and its crane has a 155-m-high boom, able to lift over 3000 t. With this new vessel, Oord is ready for future increases in scale in the offshore wind industry. It can install offshore wind turbines of more than 20 MW, with a height comparable to the Eiffel Tower.

Govert van Oord, CEO of Van Oord, said: “The Boreas is the largest investment in our company's history, a testament to our ambition to remain a frontrunner in offshore wind, accelerate the energy transition and perform our work responsibly. We lead our industry in adopting more sustainable green marine fuels; now, with the Boreas being able to operate on methanol, we have added a new chapter to our net-zero emissions journey.”

The Boreas is a sustainable frontrunner in the industry, being the first vessel of its kind equipped with dual fuel-methanol engines, which reduces its carbon foot-print by over 78%. Additionally, the vessel features selective catalytic reduction to minimise nitrogen oxide emissions, and a battery pack of more than 6000 kWh, which helps further reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

After the christening ceremony, the Boreas will head to its first offshore wind project, the Nordseecluster in the German North Sea, a joint venture between RWE (51%) and Norges Bank Management Investment (49%). Van Oord’s scope includes the installation of 104 extended monopiles as well as scour protection. The 1.6 GW wind farm cluster is expected to generate enough renewable energy to supply the equivalent of 1.6 million German households.

During the launch of the Boreas in Rotterdam, Van Oord announced that its climate goals have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), making it the first marine contractor to align with the 1.5°C pathway of the Paris Agreement. SBTi’s approval underscores Van Oord's aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the latest climate science. Van Oord submitted its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets in May 2023, had an intensive dialogue on sector classification, and used SBTi’s Maritime Guidance for its fleet-related targets. On 1 June 2025, SBTi formally communicated its approval of all Van Oord’s targets.

van Oord added: “This approval reflects both our commitment to decarbonise our operations and our desire to increase system-wide collaboration. We invest heavily in state-of-the-art decarbonisation solutions, for example in our fleet. Still, we recognise that we cannot do this alone, reaching net-zero requires close co-operation across our entire value chain. We invite our clients and partners to join us on this path by integrating climate ambition into their own business decisions. Together, we can drive real change.”

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Summer 2025 issue

Dive into the latest renewable energy insights in the Summer issue of Energy Global, out now! This edition features a guest comment from Change Rebellion on the role real change management can play in the global energy sector before a regional report, which looks at energy trends and transformations across the Americas. Other key topics are also explored, including offshore support vessels, floating wind, weather analysis, and battery storage. Contributors include Ørsted, CRC Evans, Miros, Solcast, and more, so don’t miss out!

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/20062025/van-oord-christens-boreas/