The cooperation between Cuxport and Offshore Marine Management GmbH (OMM) is gathering pace: the “Bourbon Enterprise”, the first vessel equipped for the maritime cable business at a quay at Cuxport, left Cuxhaven on Wednesday for the last time bound for the North Sea.
On its seven trips, the 76-metre long multi-purpose ship has been preparing the seabed for the installation of maritime cables for the offshore BorWin 2 network connecting project, which will link the Veja Mate and Global Tech I wind parks in the North Sea with the mainland.
“The departures of a vessel operating in the maritime cable sector are just another important step along the pathway of expanding the cooperation agreed between Cuxport and OMM GmbH on 1 August 2011,” Peter Zint, Managing Director of Cuxport GmbH , underlines. “As an integral part of the offshore base port at Cuxhaven, we’re able to contribute most of the services that we have available within the partnership with OMM. This primarily means products in the services and maintenance business for this customer – but also services in the maritime cable logistics sector.” The German subsidiary of the British company, Offshore Marine Management, which is an independent provider of maritime solutions for the offshore industry, had located its business at the terminal space at Cuxport last year.
As part of the route clearance work, the “Bourbon Enterprise”, which was prepared for its task at the Cuxport site, is starting to establish the link between the Veja Mate and Global Tech I wind parks and the mainland by initially cleaning and preparing the route on the seabed.
The BorWin 2 offshore network connection project is relying on OMM’s expertise to complete this task. “To provide our solutions in the offshore sector, we require the support of a flexible logistics provider, such as we’ve found at Cuxport,” says Rob Grimmond, Managing Director of Offshore Marine Management , providing the reasons for the company’s choice of base; and he adds: “Cuxhaven’s favourable geographical location in the German Bight and proximity to the wind parks and lock-free access to the North Sea mean that this port is not just restricted to handling this project.”
By using underwater robots, the company has also been able to install “concrete mattresses”, which allow existing and newly laid cables or wires to intersect on the seabed in the North Sea. The maritime cables are then laid on the seabed by a cable-laying vessel, which adapts its travelling speed to the nature of the underwater route that has been prepared. Once the two offshore wind parks, which are part of the BorWin 2 offshore consortium, start operating, it will be possible to feed renewable energy generated at sea into the national grid.
Cuxport GmbH operates a multi-functional handling terminal at the deep- water port of Cuxhaven. In addition to extensive RoRo transhipment operations, Cuxport provides an ideal geographical location for all maritime traffic and the best possible links to inland destinations. The company is a joint venture where Rhenus AG & Co. KG has a 74.9 percent holding and HHLA Container Terminals GmbH holds 25.1 percent of the shares. The Rhenus Group is a logistics services provider with global operations and annual turnover of EUR 3.4 billion. Rhenus has over 19,000 employees at more than 290 business locations. Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) is one of the leading port logistics groups at the North Sea ports.
[mappress]
Offshore WIND staff, June 04, 2012; Image: bourbon-online