The agreement covers the acquisition of assets and employees and is intended to give a strategic boost to Van Oord’s Offshore Wind Projects business unit. The acquisition has to be cleared by the German competition authority, Bundeskartellamt, before being finalised.
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 900t, will be replaced by one with a lifting capacity of 1,600t. At the same time the transport capacity will be extended, which will enable the installation of increasingly larger foundations and heavier turbines at wind farms.
The crane has been ordered from heavy installation equipment specialist Huisman and the modification of the Aeolus will be completed in early 2018.
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