DEME wins turbine installation contract for Zeevonk phase 1 with Norse Energi
DEME has signed a contract for the transport and installation of 69 wind turbines for phase 1 of the Zeevonk offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea. The turbines will be installed by Norse Energi, the newest jack-up offshore transport and installation vessel in the DEME fleet, delivered in January 2026. Zeevonk is being developed by Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), with the first phase of around 1 GW expected to be operational by 2029.
In brief
The installation vessel Norse Energi will erect 69 wind turbines for the first phase of the Zeevonk offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea under a contract signed by Belgium's DEME. The first phase of Zeevonk, with about 1 GW of capacity, is being built by Vattenfall and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, with commissioning planned for 2029. DEME also won a contract in July 2026 to install 69 monopile foundations, so the company covers the entire installation scope of the first phase. Norse Energi was built by the CIMC Raffles shipyard, which delivered the vessel on 15 January 2026.
A second Zeevonk award, now covering the turbines
This is DEME's second contract on the project. In July 2026 the company was awarded the transport and installation of 69 monopile foundations, together with a filter layer for scour protection and marshalling of primary and secondary steel. The monopiles will be installed by the floating installation vessel Orion, supported by a jack-up vessel for secondary steel and a fallpipe vessel for scour protection. Offshore construction is scheduled to begin in 2028.
With the turbine award, DEME now holds the full installation scope for phase 1, from foundations to nacelles and blades. Martin Degen, Business Unit Director WTG and O&M at DEME, said the contract further expands the company's role on Zeevonk and that its versatile fleet allows it to support offshore wind projects across their lifecycle. The inter-array cables will be supplied by Dutch manufacturer TKF.
Norse Energi: rotors above 300 m and monopiles up to 3,000 tonnes
Norse Energi is the sister vessel of Norse Wind. Both were designed by GustoMSC and built by CIMC Raffles, which delivered Norse Energi on 15 January 2026. The vessel is designed to install turbines with rotor diameters above 300 m and XXL monopiles weighing up to 3,000 tonnes in water depths of up to 70 m.
Both units entered service in the first half of 2026 with contracts already secured on European projects. Zeevonk adds further work to their schedules towards the end of the decade.
Zeevonk on the IJmuiden Ver Beta site
Zeevonk is located on the IJmuiden Ver Beta site, 63-84 km off Bergen aan Zee. The Vattenfall and CIP joint venture won the site in June 2024 in the largest Dutch offshore wind tender to date, with plans for at least 2 GW. The project was later split into phases, with phase 1 covering around 1 GW. The Netherlands continues to build out the IJmuiden Ver zone: the Gamma-A and Gamma-B sites, 1 GW each, are in a tender round expected to close in December 2026.
Installation vessels booked across the North Sea and the Baltic
Awards such as Zeevonk show how quickly installation vessel calendars are filling up for the coming years. Poland is building a stronger position in this market: Baltic Power delivered first power to the grid in July 2026, and Baltica 2 turbines will be installed in 2027 from the T5 installation terminal in the Port of Gdańsk. Dedicated port infrastructure helps Polish projects make efficient use of a fleet that developers across Europe are competing for.
Source: Gazeta Morska · Compiled by: Kamil Kusier
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