On May 8th, 2024, the new offshore wind installation vessel BOREAS built by CIMC Raffles for the Netherlands company Van Oord Ship Management B.V. was launched smoothly at the Yantai construction base, and the launch weight reached 37,370 tons (equivalent to a "light aircraft carrier"). It created a new record of CIMC Raffles for the double barge joint launch.
At 11:00 AM on the 8th, with the warm sunshine and calm sea, the vessel left the slipway and slowly moved onto the barge. At 17:06 PM on the 12th, the ballast water tank of the barge was flooded, the vessel was floated smoothly and the launching was complete success. Subsequently, the vessel was successfully moored at CIMC Raffles 1# quay. Next, it will step into the stage of leg assembly, main crane installation, and overall commissioning to ensure the delivery of high-quality vessel for the owner.
The vessel measures 176 meters in length, and works in waters up to 80 meters deep, as well as accommodating 135 persons onboard. The vessel’s maximum net load lifting capacity is more than 20,000 tons, and the deck area is over 7,000 square meters. It has a crane with a 155-metre-high boom, able to lift over 3,000 tons. It will therefore be able to install the 20 MW offshore wind turbines at sea. The vessel has been classified by DNV.
The BOREAS is the first vessel of its kind capable of using future fuel methanol, equipped with approximately 3,000 cubic meters of methanol storage and five methanol dual-fuel main engines, which not only meets clean and environmentally emission requirements, but reduces the ship's CO2 footprint by more than 78%. In addition, the vessel will be equipped with a selective catalytic reduction unit to reduce the NOx emission to an absolute minimum.
The vessel, which is the largest of its kind as deliverable, will be deployed on offshore wind farms specifically for the transport and installation of the next generation offshore wind turbines and large foundations, and will be continued to contribute to the goal of global "carbon neutrality" and firmly pursue the path of "green practitioners".
