Dredging work has begun on the future offshore wind energy terminal in Świnoujście, Poland.
The work is being carried out by Dutch vessels, namely the dredging vessel “Vox Ariane” and the escort vessel “Maas”. Prior to this, the seabed was cleared of ferromagnetic and other potentially dangerous military objects, according to the Port Authority of Swinoujscie and Szczecin[ds_preview].
Construction is also underway in the landside area. Existing structures have been removed, the area is being paved, and a workshop and administration building have begun construction. Work to prepare the quays is continuing.
The expansion of the offshore wind energy installation port is being financed by the Szczecin and Świnoujście Port Authority (ZMPSiŚ SA). The part involving the construction of the quay and the square directly adjacent to the quay is being taken over by the energy group Orlen Neptun.
ZMPSiŚ SA has commissioned PORR SA to carry out the hydrotechnical part of the project. Sweco Polska sp. z o.o., in turn, is the contract engineer. Orlen Neptun commissioned Budimex with the civil engineering work.
Swinoujscie offshore port gets three new berths
As part of the contract, PORR will carry out the expansion of berths 1 and 2 and the deepening of the entrance channel and the harbour basin that leads the ships to the berth, as well as the construction of berth 3 over a length of approx. 300 m.
Quays 1, 2 and 3 will be extended into the Swina basin, with a targeted technical depth of 12.5 m compared to today. Berth No. 1, with a length of 249.2 m and a load capacity of 50 kN/m2, will be designed for WTTV (Wind Turbine Transport Vessel) vessels with parameters of 220 m length, 50.0 m width and 11.0 m draught.
Berth no. 2, length 245.8 m, load capacity from 50 kN/m2 to 250 kN/m2 with 10 berths for the integration of wind turbine towers with a load capacity of 500 kN/m2 will be intended for the handling of wind turbine installation vessels of the Jack-up type with parameters of length ≤ 170 m, width ≤ 60 m.
Site No. 3, on the other hand, is approx. 293.1 m long and has an area of approx. 32,030 m2 including the floodplain. A bank reinforcement will be carried out here for the purpose of flooding and, in a later phase of the project, for the construction of a quay for ship handling.
Start of operations planned for 2025
In the first phase of the project, new quays with a length of around 500 m and a technical depth of 12.5 m will be built. These are quay facilities with ten pre-installation stations for the towers. A new access route with a depth of 12.5 m and a width of 140 m will lead to the quays. On land, storage areas will be created to enable the handling of up to 80 wind turbines, each with an output of 15 MW per year.
Each of the two quays available will allow the pre-assembly of wind turbine towers with a height of over 100 m and a weight of around 1,200 tons each. The length of the berths, both 250 m, will allow the use of the largest specialised vessels currently available for the installation of offshore wind farm components. The terminal is scheduled to go into operation in 2025 and will employ around 100 people during the installation work.
