Van Oord’s Svanen in new Baltic project
The 600MW Kriegers Flak is owned by Swedish energy company, Vattenfall, and will be Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm, sited across a range of 15 to 40 kilometres from the Danish coast.
Dredging and offshore contractor, Van Oord, has been contracted to install the project’s 72 monopiles and transition pieces which will be transported from Rostock in Germany and Aalborg in Denmark respectively.
Svanen, the company’s 8,000 tonne heavy lift installation vessel, was first put to use for Van Oord in 2016 when it installed the foundations for the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind project in the UK.
The vessel was modified in 2017 when it gained two new spreader beams at the main hoists capable of lifting loads of 2,000 tonnes each, a new skidding gripper suitable for monopiles up to 90 metres long and with diameters of between 7 and 11 metres. The gripper can also be equipped with a noise mitigation system and is complemented with a skidding hammer platform for hammers weighing up to 1,200 tonnes.
The Svanen has installed the majority of monopiles in the Baltic Sea including the Anholt, Baltic 2 and Arkona projects. The Kriegers Flak farm is expected to be operational by the end of 2021.
