Second new offshore quay in Den Helder delivered

On Friday, 12 December 2008, principal contractor Ballast Nedam Infra Noord West transferred the entire widened and renovated Onderzeedienstkade to the municipality of Den Helder. Several months ago, this contractor also delivered the partly widened and renovated Visserijkade. Den Helder’s services for the offshore industry and ocean shipping will be further optimized with these renovated harbour facilities.

The official opening of the quay will be held on Wednesday, 11 February 2009.

From June 2007 to early December 2008, work was underway to restore the harbour facilities along the Nieuwediep, the harbour area of Den Helder. This project, called the Den Helder Harbour Redevelopment Project, was jointly financed by the province of North Holland and the municipality of Den Helder. The total project has required an investment exceeding EUR 13 million.

Harbour Alderman Cor Hienkens: “Partly thanks to the previous renovation of the neighbouring Paleiskade, Den Helder has been able to acquire a prominent position in the maintenance and supply chain for the offshore industry. From this quay, where the Offshore Service & Logistics Centre is located, a fleet of fourteen modern supply vessels will supply some 130 permanent platforms and eight drilling platforms in the southern part of the North Sea. Since an increasing number of oil companies have been concentrating their logistic activities in Den Helder, additional quay facilities were needed. This has now been provided with the Den Helder Harbour Redevelopment Project.”

Through the expansion and renovation of the Onderzeedienstkade, the available quay surface area has nearly tripled from 4,000 to 11,500 square metres. The quay is now 270 metres long and fully suitable for the storage and transhipment of goods for the offshore industry and ocean shipping. The part of the Visserijkade that has been widened and renovated connects to the Onderzeedienstkade and is 195 metres long. This part of the quay has a surface area of 2,300 square metres and is not only used by the offshore industry but also by the fisheries. The new harbour security regulations (ISPS) are in force on the Onderzeedienstkade. A mooring facility, 65 metres in length, has been created at the top of this quay, especially for sea-going cruises.