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Karin Rix Holländer
Executive Assistant MA
Port Esbjerg has now been granted permission to deepen the fairway. This will benefit both the green transition and Esbjerg as a NATO port.
Port Esbjerg is strengthening its infrastructure and preparing for its future as a critical infrastructure hub.
Very large vessels, including cargo vessels, RoRo vessels, military vessels and wind turbine vessels, will soon be able to enter the port, as the Danish Coastal Authority has given Port Esbjerg the go-ahead to deepen the fairway.
The deepening is necessary, not least because wind turbine vessels will be even larger in future and because NATO military vessels carry heavy equipment and need to be able to load and unload quickly. If Port Esbjerg is to support military mobility and at the same time be an offshore wind hub, the port must be geared to receive larger vessels than today.
“We’re pleased that we’ve finally been given the go-ahead so that we can get started,” says Dennis Jul Pedersen, CEO at Port Esbjerg.
A necessary step
The vessels used by the European wind industry are steadily increasing in size. If the ports are to offer the necessary capacity and accommodate large offshore wind projects, vessels must be given better conditions for calling at the ports.
In 2022, Port Esbjerg received a grant of DKK 211 million to deepen the fairway from 9.3 to 12.8 metres. The grant came from the EU infrastructure fund, Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The grant also resulted in Port Esbjerg’s designation as a Ten-T port as part of the Trans-European Network.
“This will be a game-changer for our port and position us as a critical hub for both military transports and wind turbines in the future,” says Dennis Jul Pedersen.
The project also involves an extension of the railway and paving of large areas.
As ships and offshore wind projects grow larger, it is necessary to develop and expand the capacity in and around Port Esbjerg.
21,6 km fairway
The project concerns the deepening of Grådyb, a 21.6 km long fairway stretching from the North Sea to Port Esbjerg.
The process has been delayed due to environmental surveys. Also, Port Esbjerg has prepared an environmental impact report for the project, which was submitted for consultation. The report describes how the project will affect the natural environment of the area.
In order for the fairway to be sufficiently deep, up to 3,702,000 cubic metres of material must be dredged from the seabed.
Much of this material will be used for the expansion of the port to the south.
“We believe that this is a sensible solution both from a financial and an environmental point of view,” says Dennis Jul Pedersen.
Port Esbjerg expects the work to begin this autumn and to be completed next spring.
Through the North Sea Agreement, Port Esbjerg has received a grant of DKK 90 million from the Danish state, which will be used to develop and expand the port to accommodate more offshore wind activity in the future.
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