Dutch marine contractor Van Oord has lined up more heavy-lift installation work for its vessels at the Baltica 2 offshore wind farm. The project is being developed Ørsted and PGE located 40 kilometres offshore in the Polish area of the Baltic Sea. 

Van Oord will transport and install 111 extended monopiles, of which 107 will serve as foundations for wind turbines. The remaining four will serve as foundations for offshore substations. With a production capacity of 1.5 GW, the wind farm will be Poland’s largest-ever renewable energy project. once completed, it will produce enough green energy to cover the power consumption of approximately 2.4 million Polish households.

Read more: Van Oord’s heavy-lift vessel Svanen set for an upgrade

Heavy-lift upgrade

Van Oord will deploy the offshore installation vessel Aeolus and heavy-lift installation vessel Svanen on this important Polish offshore wind project. The Svanen will undergo a major upgrade this year. The extension of the gantry crane will make the Svanen one of the largest floating heavy-lift installation vessels worldwide and will increase its lifting capacity. As a result of this upgrade, the Svanen will be able to install the foundations for the new generation 14 MW wind turbines used at the Baltica 2 Offshore Wind Farm.

Besides the gantry extension, the upgrade programme includes an upgrade of the lifting hooks which will increase the lifting capacity of the vessel from 3000 tonnes to 4500 tonnes. The programme also includes an upgrade of the gripper to handle increased loads and an upgrade of the structure of the vessel to accommodate the latest hammer size. The modifications will take place in several locations in the Netherlands, mainly in the Rotterdam area. The upgraded Svanen will be operational in the third quarter of 2024.

The foundations for this offshore wind farm are extended monopiles, combining the traditional combination of a monopile and transition piece in one element. This saves lifting activities offshore and makes the installation safer and faster. Van Oord’s flexible fallpipe vessel Nordnes will be deployed to accurately and efficiently install rock at all foundation locations.