Boskalis to Install Subsea Cables at Zeevonk Offshore Wind Farm in the North Sea

Boskalis has been awarded a contract by Zeevonk, the joint venture between Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, for the offshore transport and installation of the inter-array cable system for phase 1 of the Zeevonk offshore wind farm, located in the Dutch North Sea. The scope of work includes approximately 149 kilometers of 66 kV interconnecting cables that will link 69 wind turbines, as well as cable testing and termination activities and the installation of protection systems.

Cable transport from the manufacturing plant in Eemshaven, Netherlands, to the wind farm, together with the offshore installation campaign, will be carried out using Boskalis' cable-laying vessel Boka Ocean. The company will also carry out survey activities and seabed intervention works, deploying one of its subsea rock installation vessels for this purpose. Engineering activities will begin shortly, while offshore installation is scheduled for 2029.

The Zeevonk offshore wind farm is located approximately 45 nautical miles northwest of IJmuiden, Netherlands, and according to Splash 247, it is being developed at a distance of between 63 and 84 km from the Dutch coast. Once completed, it will have a total installed capacity of approximately 2 gigawatts (GW), making it one of the largest offshore renewable energy projects in the Netherlands. The development is divided into two phases of approximately 1 GW each, and Boskalis' contract corresponds to phase 1, whose commercial commissioning is scheduled for 2029.

Boskalis classified the award as a contract of considerable value, a category Boskalis defines as between 50 and 150 million euros. Splash 247 specified that this range equates to between 57 and 170 million dollars. According to the outlet, phase 1 of the project still requires a final investment decision, which Vattenfall had previously indicated was expected by the end of this year, while a second 1 GW phase is planned for 2032 along with 500 MW of system integration capacity, including an electrolyzer at the Port of Rotterdam.

Splash 247 detailed that this award completes another major package for Zeevonk: TKF was selected in May to design and supply around 162 km of 66 kV inter-array cables from Eemshaven, DEME secured in July the transport and installation of the 69 monopile foundations, and EEW Special Pipe Constructions was chosen to manufacture the monopiles at its shipyard in Rostock. The outlet added that Boskalis is thereby building a growing portfolio of cable installation projects, which includes a similar contract alongside TKF for the Gennaker wind farm in Germany and the addition of a new vessel with two 12,000-ton cable carousels expected in 2029.