The first shipment of monopile foundations for the Nordlicht I offshore wind project has arrived in Eemshaven, starting a large-scale transport and logistics campaign for the project in the German North Sea.
Wagenborg is transporting all 68 monopiles on behalf of DEME. The foundations are being moved from Rostock to Eemshaven before transfer to DEME’s offshore installation vessel Orion for installation at the wind farm site.
For the transport campaign, Wagenborg has deployed the 80tBP tug Waterland with the chartered tugs Eems Warrior and Grossnordsee. The operation also uses the 15,000 dwt Wagenborg Barge 7, Wagenborg Barge 8 and Wagenborg Barge 10, together with the chartered Müller Barge 10033-1.
After arrival in Eemshaven, the monopiles are unloaded and transferred to Orion. During the unloading work, Wagenborg is responsible for ballast operations to maintain barge stability and support safe cargo handling.
The scope also includes terminal infrastructure, port agency and logistics services provided by Wagenborg in Eemshaven. These activities cover vessel calls, port logistics and operational support for the offshore installation campaign.
Eemshaven is used as a logistics base for offshore wind projects because of its deep-water access, quay infrastructure and access to offshore project locations. The port can handle large offshore wind components, including monopiles and transition pieces.
The Nordlicht cluster is located in the German North Sea and is among Europe’s largest renewable energy projects currently under development. Nordlicht I will have an installed capacity of 980 MW and will comprise 68 wind turbines, each supported by a monopile foundation. The monopiles were manufactured in Rostock and measure up to 80.5 m in length and weigh up to 1,290 tonnes each.
Together with Nordlicht II, the cluster is expected to provide more than 1.6 GW of renewable energy capacity and generate about 6 TWh of fossil-free electricity annually.
