Under the name BOW Terminal (Breakbulk and Offshore Wind Terminal), a new terminal has been developed in the seaport of Vlissingen, part of Zeeland Seaports, to support the construction of wind farms at sea.
The terminal in Westhofhaven has an ideal location to serve as operating base for the preparatory work needed for the construction of offshore wind farms.
The terminal will offer all the facilities necessary to serve as base. A permanent heavy lift capacity, 340 metres of reinforced quay that will be reserved fully for this purpose, 20 hectares of space for storage and transshipment and an open connection with the sea.
Through the initiative, Zeeland Seaports hopes that it will be able to profile her ports even better as a location for the offshore wind industry.
The arrival of the BOW Terminal will give Zeeland Seaports a permanent site for the construction of wind farms at sea. “Considering the growing market in the construction of wind farms at sea, we expect there to be a good market for such an offshore terminal, certainly in view of the very favourable nautical location, facilities and possibilities for expansion”, according to Robert van der Loos, managing director of the Bow Terminal and member of the European Wind Energy Association.
Zeeland Seaports, with throughput in excess of 30 million tonnes, is the third seaport in the Netherlands. On the basis of added value (€ 4.2 billion), it ranks second. Managing director of Zeeland Seaports, Hans van der Hart, is extremely pleased about the arrival of the new terminal. “The existing companies in our port area are the engine of the Zeeland economy and we welcome every new firm that can contribute further to this with open arms.
This initiative also fits in perfectly with our ambitions to develop further as a sustainable port”.
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Source: zeelandseaports, September 13, 2010