Van Oord puts 600-meter-long FSRU jetty together for Germany’s LNG terminal

Dutch marine contractor Van Oord has assembled a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) jetty at Wilhelmshaven, Germany for Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET), the German state-owned operator of four terminals.

The construction completion milestone for the FSRU jetty at Wilhelmshaven, managed by FSRU Wilhelmshaven, a joint venture between ENGIE and TES, comes eight months after Van Oord confirmed the contract to build the vessel running on LNG, as this is seen as a more sustainable alternative to marine gas oil (MGO), reducing sulfur, particulate, and nitrogen dioxide emissions.

The Dutch player, responsible for the procurement and construction of the FSRU jetty, installed ten monopiles, including scour protection to prevent erosion. Afterward, the foundations were equipped with platforms, catwalks, and furniture. The Vox Apolonia trailing suction hopper dredger was then deployed to dredge the berth pocket and turn the basin to the required depth.

By leveraging Van Oord‘s experience in dredging, infrastructure, and offshore energy, the company and its client are said to have developed a tailor-made integrated solution for the project, resorting to the deployment of monopiles, mainly used for offshore wind turbines, as the foundation for the new 600-meter-long jetty. 

Stan Aarts, Van Oord’s Project Director, commented: “We are incredibly proud of this achievement. The project is a perfect example of Van Oord’s marine ingenuity. Our project team’s expertise and dedication, combined with our cutting-edge equipment, allowed us to develop a custom integrated marine infrastructure solution that addressed our client’s challenge and successfully construct this jetty.”

The construction of the FSRU jetty was among the priority projects backed by Germany’s LNG Acceleration Act, passed in May 2022 to plug the supply gap and bolster the country’s security of supply when it comes to energy.  According to Van Oord, the need to meet the growing energy demand makes it crucial to have energy facilities that are both efficient and safe.

After FSRU Wilhelmshaven signed a contract for installation works with ECOnnect Energy to deliver a jettyless ready IQuay solution for the offshore jetty at Wilhelmshaven, Geocean was hired to work at the Wilhelmshaven 2 LNG terminal, which was scheduled to begin commercial operations in the second half of 2024.

With an LNG storage capacity of 138,000 cubic meters, the FSRU Excelsior, owned by the U.S.-based Excelerate Energy, will be deployed at this LNG terminal, which is currently under construction. The FSRU has an annual nameplate regasification capacity of 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

The list of four LNG terminals on the German North Sea coast, which are operated by DET, part of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, encompasses Wilhelmshaven 1, Brunsbüttel, Wilhelmshaven 2,  and Stade.

The start-up of commercial operations of the Wilhelmshaven 2 LNG terminal will allow KN Energies to take the reins of the terminal’s technical operation and maintenance infrastructure.