Van Oord has moved into the Port of Ronne, in Denmark, to prepare to ship monopiles for an offshore wind project in the Baltic Sea.
The work will run well into 2025 and requires increased local labour and the use of local subcontractors.
One of the first tasks has been to establish sandbanks on which the foundations can rest.
“We have previously handled foundations for Arcadis East 1,” said Port of Ronne commercial director Jeppe la Cour.
He added: “The foundations that are at the port this time are huge and very heavy steel structures that look like oversized straws.
“They are about 100 metres long and almost 10 metres in diameter and are knocked into the seabed and will provide stability to the tower, turbine and blades that will be placed on top.”
The elements will be transported to Ronne, where they will be stored in a way that minimises the risk of delays when they are to be shipped out.
“In connection with the construction of sandbanks, it will require local labour, but also the use of sand and stones sourced locally,” said la Cour, who is on the board of Offshore Center Bornholm, a network for companies associated with the offshore sector.
He added: “We know that there are ongoing conversations with companies about that part of the work, but there will also be a lot of logistics on site, and this provides good opportunities for local companies to get involved if they want to.
“Previous projects have also shown this.
“The local workforce on Bornholm has repeatedly shown that it has the necessary skills and abilities to deliver high-quality results.
“At the same time, we can see that having good local suppliers also strengthens the customers’ opportunities in relation to e.g. housing and travel logistics.”