Deepening of the entrance to the Port of Thyboron

It’s big news – very big news! For the past ten years, the Port of Thyboron has been working to increase the depth of the harbour approach in Thyboron Canal. After responsibility for dredging the canal was handed to the Port of Thyboron in 2019, we submitted an application to the Danish Coastal Authority for an environmental permit to deepen the entrance to the Port of Thyboron. In these COVID-19 times, it has taken longer for the application to be processed and to receive a definitive answer. But the permit has now been granted, and it’s simply great news!

The Port of Thyboron is growing, and so are our customers’ vessels. They are becoming larger and larger, and this is having a bearing on all aspects of the port’s business activities. Increasingly large cargo ships are entering the Port of Thyboron. The industrial fishing vessels, which land fish at the fishmeal factory, are also growing in size with every newbuild. Moreover, offshore vessels are also becoming larger in step with the growth in size of wind turbines. Consequently, there is a clear need for more water depth at the entrance to the Port of Thyboron and in Thyboron Kanal which links Limfjorden with the North Sea. The eight metres guaranteed by the Danish state will soon not be deep enough. Ten years is a long time to wait to be able to keep pace with developments and increase capacity at the harbour entrance in response to the growing need for more water depth. Therefore, as a port, we decided to work towards being able to make the investment ourselves.

Deepening step by step
The first step was being given responsibility for dredging Thyboron Kanal by the Danish state, which happened in 2019. The next step was obtaining an environmental permit to carry out the deepening ourselves, and this is the permit we have just received. We have been planning how to do the deepening alongside this process, and we are now looking forward to taking the first steps towards getting the dredging underway and having the job put out to tender.

Using the material
Being thrifty West Jutlanders, we always go to great lengths to realise as much potential as possible from our investments. Deepening the entrance in Thyborøn Kanal is a big investment for the Port of Thyboron. Therefore, we have carefully looked at the possibilities for using the material which will be removed when the canal is deepened so we can capitalise on resources where possible.
The Port of Thyboron needs to extend its land areas to cater for an anticipated growth in freight activity. It makes perfect sense to use the material from the dredging operations to expand Sydhavnen. It has therefore been decided to use the material for infilling, and reclaim a new area south of the port on which new port areas could be established in future.

Timing
First of all, Sydhavnen will be prepared for receiving the infill material. A cooling water channel for the company FMC will be moved further south, and it must also be ensured that the operation of the wind turbines off the coast of Rønland is not affected at any time. These activities will dominate spring 2021.

In May and June, Thyboron Kanal cannot be deepened for environmental reasons. Therefore, the actual dredging is expected to start in late summer 2021.

By the end of 2021, we thus hope to finally have a 10-metre-deep canal all the way into the Port of Thyboron, and all the way down to Sydhavnen – and it will be fantastically exciting to see where this leads us. We are very much looking forward to starting the actual dredging work, and to being able to offer our customers so much more water depth in about a year from now.