Osthafen (Eastern Port) in Norddeich: More Space for Ships

During the past 14 months, the eastern jetty at the port entrance in Norddeich has been extended to now 140 meters in length. That resulted in a total of four additional tide-independent berths for maritime shipping.

Norden/Norddeich | October 12, 2018

“The demands on the port of Norddeich have increased in recent years. The investment in additional berths will offer the maritime economy further prospects for its development", explained Dr. Niels Kämpny, Head of the Department of Industry and Maritime Economy at the Niedersachsen Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, Transport and Digitization, on the occasion of the inauguration ceremony.

The State of Niedersachsen has invested some 1.4 million Euros in the capacity expansion through its port company Niedersachsen Ports (NPorts). This was necessary, because the Port of Norddeich has increasing passenger and freight traffic to and from the East Frisian Islands. In addition, Norddeich is intensively used as a base port by various offshore service providers. Due to the development of wind farms, supply traffic by sea is expanding as a result of increased offshore activities. For this purpose, up to ten watercrafts (two of them are in Norderney) have been using the relevant berths in the port since 2005. The offshore wind farms "Borkum Riffgrund I" (78 wind turbines), as well as the projects "Godewind I", "Godewind II" (96 wind turbines), and Nordsee One (54 turbines) are currently being served from Norddeich.

“We have expanded the capacity and further strengthened the diversity of the Port of Norddeich. With this measure, we are taking great steps towards the ideal picture that we are striving for on-site for a future-oriented port development," emphasizes Holger Banik, Managing Director of Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co. KG and of JadeWeserPort Realisierungs GmbH & Co. KG.

The quay facility at the port entrance was created by extending the eastern jetty in a northerly direction. A back-anchored steel wall and a quay area with a width of about ten meters were constructed. Due to the proximity to the Niedersachsen Wadden Sea National Park, blinds for the visual protection of the wildlife had to be installed. For this purpose, a stone wall was poured, which creates a spatial boundary between the port area and the national park.

Due to time limitations for construction activities on the dike's flood plains during the storm surge season from October 1 to April 15, the construction work was split into two segments. In August and September 2017, the company Thieling Bau GmbH & Co. KG from Stadland installed and back-anchored the sheet pilings. In addition, the concrete beam of the original quay wall was raised and the back-anchored bollard foundations were fabricated. Starting in mid-May 2018, the production of the surface pavement commenced.

Maritime shipping in the Port of Norddeich is dominated by ferry and freight traffic to and from the Islands of Norderney and Juist: Scheduled runs of the passenger ferry lines (RoPax ferries) and freight ferries (RoRo ferries) to the East Frisian Islands (aside from Norderney and Juist, this also includes Wangerooge, Spiekeroog, and Baltrum).

In addition, there are ship departures and arrivals of the excursion traffic ships, fishing boats, official ships, rescue boats and cutters of the DGzRS, various cargo and work ships, and leisure boats. All told, the annual number of ship arrivals and departures, including recreational boats, is around 19,000.

Photo: Andreas Burmann/NPorts

From left to right: Heiko Schmelzle (Mayor of the City of Norden), Friedrich Voß (Head of NPorts Norden), Holger Banik (Managing Director of Niedersachsen Ports), Dr. Niels Kämpny (Head of the Department of Industry and Maritime Economy at the Niedersachsen Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, Transport and Digitization), and Hillgriet Eilers (MdL). Photo: Andreas Burmann/NPorts

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