Van Oord to deploy Nexus for 600MW Gemini offshore wind farm in Netherlands

Van Oord is set to deploy its first cable-laying vessel Nexus for offshore wind park constructions in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Nexus will be first used for the 600MW Gemini offshore wind farm, which is located 85 kilometres off the coast of Groningen, Netherlands and is undergoing construction at present.

Expected to be operational by 2017, the facility will be equipped with 150 wind turbines having a capacity of 4MW each and will meet power requirements of over 1.5 million people.

Van Oord owns a 10% stake in the renewable project, and is also its EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor.

Besides supplying and installing the foundations, the Dutch firm will be responsible for the entire electrical infrastructure of the facility, including the offshore and onshore high voltage stations, the cables, and the installation of the Siemens wind turbines.

Van Oord CEO Pieter van Oord said: "The Nexus is tangible proof of the strength of the Dutch maritime cluster. The ship was built on the order of a Dutch ship owner, at a shipyard owned by a Dutch company, to be used to build the largest Dutch offshore wind park that will contribute significantly to the implementation of the Dutch Energy Agreement."

Damen Shipyards Group has developed the Nexus, which has a length of nearly 123m and over 27m in the beam, at its shipyard in Galati, Romania.

The vessel is equipped with a cable carrousel having 5,000 tonnes capacity, which can be used to install the long export cables offshore.

Deck layout for the vessel has been designed in anticipation of market demands for cable installation projects.

Apart from Nexus, Van Oord will deploy other vessels for the project as well, including the specially developed offshore installation vessel Aeolus.