The expansion of Hanstholm Port was completed late in 2020 – but already last summer, a hole in one of the new piers was repaired for 11 million DKK, paid for by the port's insurance. The hole in the east pier occurred during storm Malik in January 2022. The recently retired chairman of the Hanstholm Port Board, Michael Svane, confirms that preliminary repairs to the pier have been carried out.
- When I came to the port in May, a hole had been made in the outer pier during storm Malik. We repaired the damage in August-September, so the pier was ready for the 2022-23 storm season. We had a loss limitation obligation so that the damage did not become greater, says Michael Svane, who also confirms that there is a pending case. The preliminary repair was made under insurance coverage.
Søren Zohnesen is the newly appointed port manager after having been acting port director since May 2022, and he can tell you a little more about the matter.
- We had the damage repaired and covered for the winter, and now an appraisal and inspection is underway. It may be that this is the final solution that we have made, says Søren Zohnesen.
The port manager has not yet received the inspection and assessment report, but something has already arrived.
- We have received the first bit of the indications from the report, but we have not had time to deal with the material yet, says the port manager.
The evaluation is being carried out with external help for the port.
- Our technical manager left last year, so we have external technical advisors to help together with the municipality's technical administration, says Søren Zohnesen.
He does not know whether there are major new extensive repairs on the way.
- I do not know anything about that, it depends on what the experts say, says the port manager.
However, he already has a clear idea of how the case will develop in terms of time.
- We will probably ask questions about the inspection and valuation report. Perhaps more investigations will be needed during the spring, says Søren Zohnesen.
The contractor
The contractor company Aarsleff was responsible for the port expansion and was commissioned to repair the pier in the summer of 2022 by the port's insurance company. At Aarsleff, department director Christian Trier is aware of the hole in the pier.
- It is an insurance case, and we are a party to it. The port's insurance company has requested an inspection and valuation report. I thought we would have received it already last year, explains Christian Trier.
However, it is a case with many parties, and where it will end is still unknown.
- It could end up pointing to either the port, Rambøll, Aarsleff, Cowi or the Coastal Directorate or one of our insurance companies. It is a complex matter, and it concerns the causes of damage. It could also end up in arbitration, explains Christian Trier and adds:
- It could also easily be that nothing more happens. I know nothing, and I don't know what the insurance company is after. They probably wouldn't have paid for the work if we had done something wrong. We have submitted our project and had it approved.
The dispute is complex for several reasons.
- It could also be, for example, that the criteria for the pier are met, but the pier is not designed to be able to withstand large, large loads. Nobody is saying anything yet, explains Christian Trier.
About the possibility that bills will end up with one of the parties or even the port, it says:
- Potentially, the assessment could also end up with a bill for the port or one of the other parties.
Aarslef has been responsible for the expansion of a large number of Danish ports, including Rønne, Frederikshavn and Skagen ports, in addition to the west coast port of Hvide Sande. Insurance cases such as the pier hole in Hanstholm Port are not something that the director experiences often.
- It is not often that we experience cases like this, concludes Christian Trier.
No test carried out on the east pier
At Aalborg University, associate professor of hydraulic engineering Thomas Lykke Andersen, together with the developer and consultants, participated in testing the new pier for Hanstholm Harbour back in 2018. A pier had simply been built on a scale of 1:45 in the wave laboratory in Aalborg, but it was not the pier that is now having problems that was tested.
- We only tested the west pier in our project. We did not test the east pier, where the problem is now. It is typical that only the most exposed piers are tested, because it costs money to test, explains Thomas Lykke Andersen.
Although it is expensive to carry out tests, it would have been much cheaper than carrying out the repairs that have already been carried out.
- It is very expensive to mobilize, because you have to get hold of a floating barge and an excavator. The first million DKK has already been spent before the work begins and the first 10-15 tons of heavy stones have been laid, he says.
The problem area has not been tested in a laboratory test, although several conditions apply.
- The place is where the new pier meets the old one. That is where the caissons meet the new pier. It is a corner, and here the waves can focus, which is typical of such a corner, Thomas Lykke Andersen elaborates on something that can put even more strain on the pier.
But the caissons in particular can be an even bigger problem, because they are anything but new.
- The caissons have been there for 50 years. They are filled with sand and cement, but if they are broken, they can lose the sand. It is by far Denmark's most exposed port, he adds.
The caissons were sunk when the port was built in 1967, and are therefore almost 56 years old. The special thing about the caisson is that they do not belong to the port.
- The Danish Coastal Directorate is responsible for the caissons in Hanstholm Port, says the associate professor about a part that has not been included in the ownership when the port went from state to municipal ownership.
However, the associate professor is absolutely certain that the pier should have been able to withstand storm Malik.
- You can't build something that can withstand everything, such as a 1000-year storm. But it has to be able to withstand a 100-year storm, and we weren't anywhere near that here, says Thomas Lykke Andersen.
There is one thing that the researcher is also absolutely certain about.
- It is expensive to do laboratory tests, but it is not as expensive as an amount of 11 million. kr, says Thomas Lykke Andersen finally.
DOI.dk has tried in vain to get a comment from the Danish Coastal Directorate.
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
