Van Oord orders methanol dual-fuel offshore wind turbine installation vessel at Yantai CIMC Raffles Shipyard in China.
The new 175-metre offshore jack-up installation vessel is expected to be delivered in 2024 and is capable of installing wind turbines of up to 20 MW. It is designed by Knud E Hansen.
The vessel will be equipped with a crane that can lift over 3,000 tonnes. supplied by the Dutch company Huisman. The vessel will have an advanced jacking system with four legs, each measuring 126 metres, allow the vessel to be jacked up and work in waters up to 70 metres deep.
“This investment prepares us for the increase in scale in the offshore wind industry and allows us to maintain our leadership position,” said Pieter van Oord, CEO of Van Oord.
The new order sees Van Oord joining a growing number of companies backing methanol as a marine fuel. It has already ordered three LNG-fuelled trailing suction hopper dredgers, which will be completed in 2022.
“To become carbon neutral by 2050, we look for new fuel technologies. We see methanol as one of the alternatives to meet the industry’s goals to reduce its environmental impact. Similar steps have already been made in our investment programme with the construction of three LNG-fuelled trailing suction hopper dredgers and the ordering of a new green cable-laying vessel,” commented Jaap de Jong, Director Ship Management of Van Oord.
This investment is part of a $1.16bn-fleet investment programme over the next five years. In December 2020, Van Oord had already ordered a new green cable-laying vessel at VARD in Norway.
Van Oord said demand for offshore wind farms remains high. The European Union aims to install 300 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050, and worldwide this is expected to be 2,000 GW of offshore wind energy.
Source: Seatrade Maritime News
