The Port of Thyboron has received a dredging permit from the Danish Coastal Authority to increase the depth of the Thyborøn Kanal.
For the past ten years, the Port of Thyboron was working to increase the depth of the channel Thyborøn Kanal as well as the harbour approach.
After the responsibility for dredging of the channel was handed to the Port of Thyboron in 2019, the port submitted an application to the Danish Coastal Authority for an environmental permit to deepen the entrance to the Port of Thyboron.
“The Port of Thyboron is growing, and so are our customers’ vessels. Consequently, there is a clear need for more water depth at the entrance to the port and in Thyboron Kanal which links Limfjorden with the North Sea,” the port officials said in the release.
“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. Therefore, as a port, we decided to work towards being able to make the investment ourselves.” the officials added.
Using the material
Deepening the entrance in Thyborøn Kanal is a big investment for the Port of Thyboron. Therefore, the port has carefully looked at the possibilities for using the material which will be removed when the channel is deepened.
As reported, the port needs to extend its land areas to cater for an anticipated growth in freight activity. It therefore makes perfect sense to use the material from the dredging operations to expand Sydhavnen.
So, the port officials have decided to use the dredged material for infilling, reclaiming a new area south of the port.
Timing
First of all, the port will prepare Sydhavnen 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, the port expects to finally have a 10-metre-deep channel all the way into the Port of Thyboron, and all the way down to Sydhavnen.
“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,” concluded the port.