New breakwater and LNG Terminal | Port of Swinoujscie | PL

The port of Swinoujscie, Poland, situated directly on the sea, is among the largest seaports in the Baltic Sea region, connecting Scandinavia with central and southern Europe. It is also located close to Berlin (140 km), and another relevant asset is the access to the European inland navigation system through the Oder-Havel Canal.

The Port authority is investing into new quays and is modernising the existing port infrastructure, as well as improving roads and rebuilding rail infrastructure. The main target is to adapt the infrastructure to the requirements of modern transportation systems to increase its competitiveness compared to nearby seaports.

The project of the external port is connected with the government policy of diversification of deliveries of energy-related raw materials to Poland. It includes the construction of LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) terminals, and facilities of the port for ships with a draught of 13.5 m and length up to 300 m. The LNG terminal, a facility to off-take and re-gasify liquefied natural gas, is designed as an external port situated next to the new larger and longer eastern breakwater that will be built from the northeast. South from the external port situated will be warehouses and dispatch section of the terminal. The terminal will receive vessels of about 70 000  DWT (dead weight tonnes). Additionally, the new breakwater will turn the external port into a shelter for any vessel at sea near the port.

The breakwater and the quay wall are being built with a combined wall system supplied by ArcelorMittal Commercial RPS from their mills in Luxembourg.

The breakwater is around 3 km long. In less than five months, 13 600 tonnes of steel pipes up to 24.6 m long, and 3 250 tonnes of sheet piles were delivered to the main contractor Hochtief Construction AG, in joint venture with Per Aarslef, Boskalis and Doraco. The installation works are done from five jack-up platforms with hydraulic hammers.

The loading quay wall itself is being built by a joint venture Möbius, Bunte and Pihl, using an HZM/AZ combi-wall system with HZM piles up to 26.8 m, and a pipe/AZ combiwall system. The different steel components are installed from a jack-up platform with an hydraulic hammer IHC S70 mounted on a leader fixed on a Hitachi 150 crane.

Furthermore, a large technical platform was built on the shoreline.

The breakwater and the quay wall will use around 22 690 tonnes of steel foundation elements. All the sheet piles were delivered in a very short timeframe. The project should be inaugurated at the end of 2012.

 

First publication: 19/04/2011