Sif Group, an offshore foundations manufacturer, and Verbrugge International, a logistics service provider, have signed an agreement in principal with the Port of Rotterdam Authority for the construction of a production and storage/handling terminal.
This is to better serve the North Sea’s emerging offshore wind energy needs on the road to driving down the overall cost of energy.
With this step Port of Rotterdam is looking to further expand its portfolio and bring the storage and logistics of monopiles under one roof.
“By combining production as well as handling and storage services for heavy cargo, Rotterdam will gain a strong position in offshore wind energy with top players in their respective markets,” according to Allard Castelein, chief executive officer (CEO) at the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
Sif Group considers Maasvlakte 2 (MV2) as a strategic location from which to “strengthen and expand its leading position as a deepsea port” and being able to provide their clients with optimum service for offshore wind and oil and gas in the North Sea, said Jan Bruggenthijs, CEO of Sif Group.
The new terminal, which will cover approximately 42 ha, is expected to open for operation in mid-2016. The Port Authority will build a 400 m deepsea quay for this operation “with a depth of -16.50 m NAP, with the possibility to deepen it further to approximately -19 m NAP”, it said in a statement today. Additional crane capacity will be installed for heavy lifting needs to load components and steel foundations.
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This project is expected to put Rotterdam’s offshore cluster more firmly on the map. By generating extra activities for the existing offshore cluster, such as such as the supply of components, assembly and handling, it is also expected to create around 200 jobs.
The Sif Group/Verbrugge plant and terminal will occupy about half of the 80 ha on MV2 to the north of the FutureLand information centre. A biobased cluster is also planned for this site.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
