Van Oord, a dredging, marine engineering and offshore projects contractor, has reached agreement on the acquisition of the offshore wind activities of Bilfinger Marine & Offshore Systems, a German company active in the engineering, construction and installation of foundations for offshore wind parks and harbor construction. The agreement covers the acquisition of assets and employees related to the offshore wind activities and will be finalized after it has been approved by the Bundeskartellamt, the German competition authority.
In addition to this acquisition, Van Oord will be investing in a significant modification of its installation vessel Aeolus. The current crane, which has a lifting capacity of 900-tonne, will be replaced by a crane with a lifting capacity of 1600-tonne. At the same time the transport capacity will be extended. This will enable Van Oord to continue to install the increasingly larger foundations and heavier turbines at wind farms. The crane has been ordered from Huisman, a heavy installation equipment specialist based in Schiedam/Rotterdam. The modification of the Aeolus will be completed in early 2018.
Currently, Van Oord is completing the construction of the Dutch Gemini offshore wind farm, and recently, completed the installation of the British Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm foundations for Dong Energy. In 2017, Van Oord will start the installation of the foundations of the Arkona offshore wind farm project for E.ON in Germany, and is again contracted by Dong Energy on the installation of the foundations for the Walney wind farm project in the UK.
“Both investments are part of our strategy to bolster our position on the northwestern European market for offshore wind projects,” said CEO Pieter van Oord. “Acquiring Bilfinger’s offshore wind activities will enable us to focus more on the German market.”
Image: Aeolus/Van Oord
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