Denmark’s Port Esbjerg has announced the completion of the deepening of its fairway from 9.3 to 12.8 metres, as well as the relocation of over 3.7 million cubic metres of seabed material along the 21.6-kilometre route through Grådyb.
Funded by the European Union’s infrastructure programme, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the initiative, named NORTHERNSEALYTS project, was completed on time and below budget. The result is a future-proof fairway, enabling Port Esbjerg to handle larger ships.
Port Esbjerg has noted three key strategic gains from deepening the fairway:
- The Danish port now expects to double its cargo volume over the next decade, as it is equipped to handle larger vessels.
- The port strengthens offshore wind leadership, as the project reinforces its position as the North Sea’s leading port for offshore wind, with future wind installation vessels and components becoming larger and heavier.
- The port enhances military readiness. The deeper fairway enables Port Esbjerg to receive larger RoRo and military vessels. This significantly enhances the port’s strategic importance to NATO and enables faster and more efficient response during periods of heightened readiness.
Speaking about the deepening of the fairway, Dennis Jul Pedersen, CEO of Port Esbjerg, explains: “We are already seeing that several partners and companies within the maritime sector are in need of ports that can accommodate significantly larger vessels. This is not something in the future – it is here and now. And Port Esbjerg is ready.”
