General – Silent Installation
Van Oord has installed three monopile foundations using a jetting solution in combination with a vibro lifting tool for the first time at commercial scale.
This achievement marks a major industry milestone in silent offshore installation.
Designed to reduce underwater noise and minimise impact on marine life, the method was deployed at Ecowende’s Hollandse Kust West wind farm using Van Oord’s new offshore wind installation vessel Boreas.
Van Oord is committed to reducing ecological impact without compromising installation performance. The VibroJet technology supports this ambition by combining vibrations with controlled water jets inside the monopile to fluidise the soil and reduce resistance.
Deployed from jack-up vessel Boreas, the technology has demonstrated strong potential in the dense sand layers typical of the Dutch North Sea.
The VibroJet installations were carried out in combination with CAPE Holland’s Vibro Technology, which uses vertical vibrations to temporarily reduce soil resistance, allowing monopiles to sink under their own weight.
Ecowende is a joint venture between Shell, Eneco and Chubu. Located about 53 kilometres off the Dutch coast near IJmuiden, the wind farm will have an operational capacity of approximately 760 MW, supplying around 3% of the current Dutch electricity demand.
