The port of Cuxhaven’s berth no. 4 is supporting Northland Power’s Deutsche Bucht wind farm.
According to terminal operator Cuxport, part of the Rhenus Group, the heavy lift berth will be used to store and tranship monopiles and transition pieces for the wind farm, which is currently being built in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the North Sea.
31 transition pieces for the wind farm have already been supplied to the port of Cuxhaven from Spain on board BigLift Shipping’s vessel, Happy Star. The segments, which weigh more than 300 tonnes each, were lifted onto the quay at berth no. 4 by the ship’s own cranes and are currently being stored ahead of their installation.
31 monopiles, each weighing around 1,100 tonnes, will be transported by barge from Rostock to Cuxhaven. Upon arrival at the port, the monopiles will be lifted from the barges on to the jack-up installation vessel.
The jack-up vessel will then also load out the transition pieces from the terminal and transport the components to the offshore construction site.
Rhenus Offshore Logistics has been appointed as port agent for the project and is responsible for the Customs clearance and crew changes.
“By using the ship’s own cranes, it’s possible to complete the project without any shore crane. The fact that this new berth is being used for this project so soon after its completion shows how essential it is,” said Roland Schneider, head of business development at Cuxport.
The EUR30 million (USD32.7 million) investments at the port has extended the terminal by 85,000 sq m. Berth no. 4, which features 8.5 ha of space, will be officially opened later this year.
www.cuxport.de
