Royal Boskalis has ordered Windpiper, a new subsea rock installation vessel with a cargo capacity of 45,500 metric tons, which it claims will be the industry’s largest.
The vessel, due to be delivered in first-quarter 2026, is being converted from an existing new vessel under Boskalis’ direction. It will be 227 m long and 40 m wide, with total installed power of more than 31 MW.
In addition to a moonpool, the vessel will feature an inclined fall pipe to help protect offshore structures such as the foundations of offshore wind turbines. It will have seven thrusters and DP2 dynamic positioning for operations in harsh offshore conditions.
The vessel’s capacity will be divided over two holds to suit projects with a long transit distance between rock loading facilities and the offshore site (i.e., along the US East Coast, the Baltic Sea and the southern North Sea).
According to Boskalis, the large capacity should reduce the number of round trips, leading to less emissions and lower costs per installed volume of rock. It will also have more than 100 single-occupancy cabins.
