Sea ports determine the energy security of the country
By Marek Grzybowski
Seaports are playing a decisive role in ensuring Poland’s energy security more than ever before. Suppliers of energy raw materials and products determine the stability of the country’s industrial activity, ensuring the uninterrupted operation of the chemical industry and other industries, and maintaining the continuity of transport processes. The construction of offshore wind farms and a nuclear power plant with access infrastructure is only possible if the terminals in large and small seaports operate efficiently.
The FSRU terminal and the North Port will play an important role in ensuring energy security, providing gas and oil supplies for the refining and energy industries.
In the case of the newly emerging small hydropower industry, a group of installation and service terminals will be crucial, ensuring the construction and then efficient operation of offshore wind farms and a nuclear power plant. Installation terminals will be crucial in the construction of offshore wind energy.
In the case of small hydropower, the Port of Esbjerg may be a model here. It is currently one of the largest specialist ports in Denmark. For many years it has played a key role in the development of offshore wind energy in Denmark. Much has changed since the port was built for fishing purposes in 1868. For years it was a haven for fishermen and a centre for fish processing. Years later, at the beginning of the 21st century, its functions were significantly changed.
A model installation port
The port has become a place supporting the development of a new industry. The first large offshore wind farm in Denmark, Horns Rev 1, was launched in 2002. Its construction made significant use of the technical facilities built in the port of Esbjerg. It was here that the foundations for the construction of wind farms in the Danish economic zone were created. Today, Polish ports, both large and small, are undergoing a transformation path of technical structure and function similar to the Danish port. Of course, to varying degrees.
Occupying 4.5 million square meters, the port of Esbjerg is the world’s largest base port for the offshore wind energy industry and a leader in the European offshore wind farm construction sector. Over 200 companies operate in the port, employing around 10,000 people. Over 80% of the installed capacity of small hydropower in Europe has been shipped from the port of Esbjerg, informs Jesper Bank, Chief Commercial Officer.
“4/5 of the offshore wind capacity installed in Europe was shipped out from the Port of Esbjerg. Apart from Horns Rev I and Horns Rev II, the Port of Esbjerg has been the primary base for a number of foreign wind farms. These include Butendiek, Northwind, Sandbank, Dantysk, Humber Gateway and Westermost Rough. Since 2001, 23.6 GW of offshore wind turbines have been shipped from the port,” Esbjerg Chief Commercial Officer.reports.
Port of Odense Dajin Heavy Industry signed a lease agreement
It is a sign of the times that in December last year, Chinese Dajin Heavy Industry signed a lease agreement with the Danish port of Odense for 100,000 m2 of port space for the storage of offshore wind turbine components that will be installed on European wind farms.
According to Dajin representatives, in the coming years, the Chinese manufacturer plans to deliver a “significant” number of monopiles and transition elements to projects across Europe, including Denmark, Germany, Scotland and France. Whether it will also be delivered to Poland, we will find out soon.
One of Dajin’s largest European customers is German RWE. The investor has ordered over 140 monopiles. 36 of them will be delivered to Thor, Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm with a capacity of 1.1 GW. In January 2025, the Chinese monopiles, each weighing over 1,100 tons, were delivered to the port of Eemshaven, Dajin reported in a social media post on January 13 this year.
In mid-February this year, RWE received 36 of the 72 covers from Circular Covers, a supplier from the Netherlands. They will be used to protect the foundations of the 1.1 GW Thor offshore wind farm in Denmark. The covers were delivered to the port of Thyboron in Denmark.
They will be used to protect the Chinese structures from seawater, rain and bird droppings until the turbine towers are installed on the monopiles. RWE selected Dajin Offshore and EEW SPC in 2023 to build the 36 monopiles. The Chinese company produced the first foundation in summer 2024 and delivered the first batch to the port of Eemshaven in the Netherlands in October 2024.
The port’s epicenter of offshore wind energy
– The Port of Esbjerg is one of the European epicenters of offshore wind energy. To date, the Port of Esbjerg has supported 59 offshore wind energy projects – emphasizes Dennis Jul Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer, in the information on the Port of Esbjerg website. The port’s potential is still being expanded as part of the project “The Next Era of Green Transformation”.
It is to increase the capacity of offshore wind farm installations in Europe. This is an extensive investment program. Storage spaces will be expanded and the number of pre-assembly and installation sites will be increased. The quays for the next generation of offshore wind turbines will be reinforced. It is expected that the modernizations and expansions will provide access for large installation vessels that will be introduced to the market.
In order to implement the above plans, the port expansion program has been planned for Stage 5.0, which includes 74 ha of landing area in neighboring waters. The adjacent area of 19 ha will be added to the existing port installation area. This port expansion of 93 ha will be ready in 2025, the Esbjerg Port Authority announces.
Świnoujście – course for OWE business
For comparison, the installation terminal in Świnoujście is being built on an area of approximately 20 ha. The area located here is where key elements of offshore wind turbines are reloaded and stored, such as structural elements, blades and nacelles. The terminal will also be able to accept offshore transformer stations weighing up to 24 thousand tons.
It is assumed that the installation port in Świnoujście will be able to handle approximately 80 units participating in the construction of offshore wind farms per year. The length of the quays will be 485 meters, while the depth at the approach and at the quay itself has been planned at 12.5 meters. The approach fairway will be 140 meters wide. The load-bearing capacity of the quays has been planned to be from 5 to 50 tons per m2, depending on the purpose. The investor is PKN Orlen.
In order to obtain land for this project, the Szczecin-Świnoujście Seaport Authority exercised its pre-emptive right to purchase the port area occupied by the shipyard. In order to adapt the area to the requirements of the installation port, it was necessary to dismantle the shipyard installations. The pier and dock dolphins left by the Gryfia Marine Repair Yard were removed. Quay No. 1 and Quay No. 2 were expanded, each over 240 m long. The second stage of terminal development is also planned. It includes the construction of Quay No. 3, approximately 300 m long.
The Danes emphasize that the Port of Esbjerg is the only place in the world where companies from the entire wind energy value chain operate. From research and development, production, through transport and pre-assembly, to installation and maintenance. “State of Green”.
It is emphasized that “The transition from an old industry based on new technologies to an industry based on new technologies has transformed the Port of Esbjerg from a fishing port into an energy metropolis”. New port activities and services, such as power-to-x production and a science centre, have generated significant employment growth and attracted investment, residents and workers to the entire city of Esbjerg.
Offshore wind business in Polish ports
This process may be repeated on a smaller scale not only in Świnoujście but also in Władysławowo, Łeba, Gdynia and Gdańsk and other Polish ports. For now, the first offshore farm in the Polish exclusive economic zone is supported with minimal support from Gdynia and Władysławowo. SVANEN, which installed the first monopiles for wind turbines, has already sailed from Gdynia to the waters of the Baltic Power offshore farm. The installation vessel will install a total of 76 monopiles for turbines and foundations of two power stations. Research vessels dealing with preparing waters for the installation of wind tower foundations at sea have also sailed from Gdynia and Władysławowo.
However, Bornholm will play an important role in the first phase of construction of the Polish offshore wind farm. The Roenne port will be the installation base of Baltic Power, because the terminal in Świnoujście is not yet fully ready to handle the logistics process. The Roenne port will therefore play an important role in the logistics process during the construction of the Baltic Power. The first elements intended for this project are already on Bornholm. TASK Engineering is handling them. Roenne already has experience in operational activities for wind farms, as he provided logistics for the Kriegers Flak and Baltic Eagle farms, as well as the Arcadis Ost project.
When the construction of the offshore wind farms enters a well-advanced phase, Terminal 5. Baltic Hub in Gdańsk should be involved in their logistics. Unfortunately, construction did not start until mid-November. T5 will only start operating as an installation terminal for offshore wind farms in about two years. The terminal will be built by landing an area of 21 hectares. Operators of installation units and those involved in the transport of elements will have at their disposal two quays with a total length of 800 m. There will also be a ramp for servicing ro-ro ships. In the vicinity of the quays there will be assembly and storage yards with high load-bearing capacity. The depth of the waters at the quays will be 17.5 m.
LNG in seaports
Energy security also means ensuring gas supplies. On December 3rd last year, GAZ-SYSTEM announced that it had received a decision from the Pomeranian Voivode on a building permit in the Gulf of Gdańsk for a floating LNG Terminal together with the infrastructure necessary to service it and an offshore gas pipeline connecting the Terminal with the mainland. The planned date of launching the FSRU is the turn of 2027 and 2028 – announces the operator.
The FSRU terminal near the port of Gdańsk will provide an annual capacity of 6.1 billion m3. It is planned that the FSRU terminal in Gdańsk will provide gas supplies for Poland and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. According to GAZ-SYSTEM, the Gdańsk LNG terminal is to “play a significant role in the energy transformation process, ensuring increased supplies of natural gas for the needs of industry, power generation and heating in the transitional period of decarbonization of the Polish economy”.
In January this year, an investment worth PLN 1.7 billion was completed in Świnoujście. This amount was used to build a third gas tank and a second quay. Thanks to this, the LNG terminal’s regasification capacity was increased from 6.2 billion m3 per year to 8.3 billion m3. In this way, the LNG terminal in Świnoujście provides half of Poland’s gas demand.
Port ecosystem for energy
Around Polish ports, similarly to Esbjerg, an entire ecosystem related to energy security and offshore wind energy is being built. Production plants, service centers are being built, and design, logistics and agency services are developing.
In Gdańsk, the Maritime University launched the Offshore Center, which also houses the Maritime Institute. A project meeting related to the activation of short sea shipping on the E60 route as part of the INCONE60 project was recently held there. In Gdynia, the Maritime School has been training specialists for service vessels and installers for offshore wind farms for years.
Projmors Biuro Projektów Budownictwa Morskiego, operating in the ASE Technology Group, has become a technical advisor to PGE Baltica. PROJMORS is the main designer of the Baltic Towers factory in Gdańsk and other investments related to wind energy and gas transshipment terminals and investments related to energy security. A service base for the Ocean Winds wind farm is being built in Władysławowo.
In Łeba, Erbud has begun work on the construction of an offshore base. This is the beginning of the investment of the offshore project management center for MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III. The base was designed by the Gdańsk architectural office B-CA. The operational and service base in Łeba was created by Equinor and will be the logistics center for projects implemented by the company together with Polenergia.
Production plants related to the construction of wind farm elements are being built around the ports of Szczecin and Świnoujście and in Gdańsk. Let us recall that in Gdynia, at the CRIST shipyard, there is a hub for the production of ships for offshore wind energy. The installation ships Innovation, Thor and Vidar and installations such as Bladt Hornsea Substation have sailed from the CRIST docks. The Gdynia shipyard, with which HYDROMEGA cooperates, is building service ships for servicing offshore wind farms. In the neighboring NAUTA repair shipyard, such units are being renovated. Grupa Remontowa is also active in this area.
It should not be forgotten that complex operations related to the construction of wind farms require extensive and specialist logistics services. Installation processes, supply chains and service units are handled by many logistics operators and agency companies, including Morska Agencja Gdynia. Among others, Morska Agencja Gdynia is the agent of the Svanen crane vessel, operated by Van Oord.
The energy security of the country and the energy transformation of Poland are not possible without the activity of large and small ports, without access infrastructure from the sea and land, without good technical and organizational support. These aspects will be discussed, among others, at the upcoming Maritime Congress Ports 2030.