The Port of Taichung in Taiwan has completed the first of several tailor-made wharves that will be used for the offshore wind industry.
Wharf No. 106, completed in mid-April, will soon be put into service receiving wind turbine parts and materials and shipping out assembled turbine components for installation.
The vacant land behind the wharf is planned to be paved over for use as a multipurpose yard and bulk-cargo handling facility.
According to Port of Taichung, the new wharf provides a total waterline length of 450m, operating water depth of -16.3m, and a load-bearing structural width of 33m.
To meet the needs of jack-up vessels, the seabed in an area extending 200m beyond both ends of the wharf and 60m outward from the baseline has been reinforced to permit turbine installation vessel anchor loading operations up to 90mt/m2, the port said.
Wharves No. 2, 5A, 5B and 36 are also at various stages of construction or renovation and will support the turbine manufacturing, storage, assembly, and transport needs of private-sector contractors.
At the beginning of the year, Port of Taichung and Ørsted signed a wharf lease for the construction of the Greater Changhua offshore wind farms, as well as for project operations and maintenance.