Dutch dredging company Van Oord about to take over Bilfinger's offshore wind sector

The agreement covers the acquisition of assets and employees related to the offshore wind activities.

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 tonnes, will be replaced by a crane with a lifting capacity of 1,600 tonnes. 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.

Van Oord’s wind division was strengthened in recent years through the acquisition of Ballast Nedam Offshore’s operations. The fleet was also recently expanded with the arrival of heavy lift installation vessel Svanen, installation vessel Aeolus, and cable-laying vessel Nexus. Currently, Van Oord is completing the construction of the Dutch Gemini offshore wind farm. Recently, the installation of the British Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm foundations for Dong Energy was completed. 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 United Kingdom.

"Both investments are part of our strategy to bolster our position on the northwestern European market for offshore wind projects. Acquiring Bilfinger’s offshore windactivities will enable us to focus more on the German market", said CEO Pieter van Oord