Port Strategy January/February 2022

CARGO HANDLING

MOBILES: GROWING IN THE WIND John Bensalhia investigates the development and operation of mobile harbour cranes for the growing task of wind turbine component handling

8 The port of Antwerp, Belgium epitomises how the ports sector is progressively growing its expertise in handling larger and diverse wind turbine components

Ports and terminals are setting their sights on the offshore wind industry, a sector that continues to grow. Given the increasing scale of the wind power industry, port interests are looking to use the best quality mobile harbour cranes that can efficiently handle bulky, heavy wind turbine components.

A recent report from WindEurope says that with massive expansion throughout Europe of offshore wind farms, investment in this field is a necessity. Power output levels are predicted to grow from 25 GW to over 400 GW by 2050. With that in mind, the report estimates that €6.5bn worth of investment will be required into port infrastructure by 2030.

New infrastructures will be needed for new berths, heavyduty quay and general work-space as well as supporting supply-chain facilities.

Giles Dickson CEO, WindEurope, points out that ports are essential for offshore wind as they are a crucial element of the supply and logistics chain needed for “the installation, assembly, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms.

“Ports are perfect hubs for green energy. The offshore wind supply chain is often located in or around ports. Ports are then integrated into wider industrial ecosystems, and they will play a key role in the decarbonisation of, for example, chemical plant and refineries in coastal industrial clusters – through the renewable energy for which they serve in a hub capacity” Typical of the response of ports to meet wind generated energy requirements are the following prohects: 8 The Port of Tyne, UK: is to become the base for large-scale offshore wind farm, the Dogger Bank project. Over the course of a six-year plan extending from 2020 to 2026, the project is due to be implemented in three 12 GW phases, with the ultimate aim of generating around five per cent of the country’s electricity requirements.

8 Forth Ports, UK: plans are underway for the UK’s Forth Ports’ Port of Leith to establish itself as a renewable energy hub. Central to these are a riverside marine berth for

accommodating offshore wind installation vessels, and an upgrade of a 140-acre cargo handling site.

8 Port of Amsterdam, The Netherlands: This year will see the completion of the new energy port, Energiehaven, being developed by the Port of Amsterdam, With work having commenced on the 15-hectare area in 2020, Energiehaven is due to be completed by May 2022. It is intended to play a major role in the construction of offshore wind farms in the North Sea. The facility is strategically located in front of the sea locks in Ijmuiden.

ADAPTING TO DEMAND While the concept of wind power is by no means new, port interests are progressively responding to the sector’s growing demands. The Port of Antwerp notes: “For more than a decade, we have been handling cargo for the production of renewable energy such as wind power.

During that time, the global wind power market nearly quadrupled. As the market has grown, so has our expertise.

There is no one-size-fits-all for this type of cargo: each load consists of motors, hubs, blades, tower sections, and nacelles.”

At a cargo handling systems supply level mobile cranes are a primary machine for over the quay handling.

Sebastian Simon, Product Manager, Liebherr Mobile Harbour Cranes, notes that typically the weight of the nacelle to be loaded can be several hundred tonnes. “For this purpose,“ he says, “our LHM 800 is the perfect solution. It is possible to lift up to 616 tonnes (on rope) with two LHM 800 units in tandem operation.”

He gives the examples of the LHM 800 in service in the port of Esbjerg or the Lindø facility in the port of Odense, a facility located between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, providing handling facilities to the burgeoning offshore wind industry.

Carsten Aa, CEO, Lindø, explains that the company’s

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