Esbjerg dredging gets the go-ahead

The Kystdirektoratet, the Danish Coastal Authority, has given the port – a leading hub for the offshore wind industry – the go-ahead to deepen the 22 km-long Grådyb fairway.

“This will be a game-changer for our port and position us as a critical hub for wind turbines,” said Port of Esbjerg chief executive Dennis Jul Pedersen.

More than 3,700,000m³ of material will be dredged, with much of the material used to expand the port to the south. Work will begin this autumn and is scheduled to finish in spring 2025.

In 2022, Port Esbjerg received a grant of US$20M to deepen the fairway from 9.3 metres to 12.8 metres. The grant came from the EU infrastructure fund, Connecting Europe Facility. The grant also resulted in Port Esbjerg’s designation as a Ten-T port as part of the Trans-European Network, but work has been delayed until environmental surveys have been completed.

The port has prepared an environmental impact report for the project, which has been submitted for consultation.