Jørgen is a pioneer in Danish offshore wind

The mood, optimism and ideas to want more are fully intact – and you can feel it immediately when Jørgen Holm Christensen answers the phone. The interview appointment is made in no time.

He is one of Denmark's pioneers in offshore wind, because as a ship salvager he has been involved in the field from the very beginning. His ships have carried crews during the construction of the offshore parks Middelgrund, Nysted, Horns Rev 1 and the Swedish Bergkvara. But it also turned into assignments with offshore wind farms in the Netherlands and England.

Although the shipping company is gone, the shipowner now lives almost on the first floor with a view over the Little Belt in Strib, but the house that his wife owns is for sale. Jørgen Holm Christensen wants to return to Fredericia, where he still has his daily routine, and his wife runs a hot dog stand. It has been 10 years since the now 70-year-old Jørgen Holm Christensen lost his shipping company Øresund Bådeservice after bankruptcy. It is not something that bothers him - but the process does.

- We had just celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2009, and a year later it was all over, says Jørgen Holm Christensen.

The requirements for the service boats, which are now called Crew Transport Vessels (CTVs), had become higher and higher. This required a very large investment.

- There was a need to build SWATH catamarans, and this would require an investment of 50 million. DKK. The bank would not be in favor of that, he explains.

The so-called Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull, which SWATH catamarans mean, would be able to sail faster back and forth from the wind farms.

This cut Øresund Bådservice off from the future that required faster and faster transport to and from the wind farms. Nevertheless, the shipping company had no problem continuing, because Jørgen Holm Christensen had been involved in the major Danish construction projects surrounding the connections across the Great Belt and Øresund. A ten-year contract with the Fehmarnbelt connection was enough to keep the shipping company running smoothly.

- Fehmarnbelt wanted to terminate the contract with us and asked what it would cost. We calculated that it would be 60 million. DKK that Fehmarnbelt would not pay. Therefore, we entered into a verbal agreement about future work instead, but Fehmarnbælt did not honor it, and I went bankrupt, says Jørgen Holm Christensen, who even has recordings of the verbal agreement, but it was of no use.

- My small in-house lawyer in Fredericia was completely run over by the barrister, and I did not have 200,000,- for a bigger lawyer, says Jørgen Holm Christensen, who has been left with a debt of millions, which has in the meantime grown from 15 to almost 70 million. DKK.

Therefore, it is only his wife's fault that he is now sitting with a sea view in the newly built villa in Strib. But the ideas are still bubbling, and there is also time for a replacement job as a truck driver. It all started in a completely different place 55 years ago.

At sea at 15

The story of the Fredericia boy begins as early as 1967, when he became a sailor at Svitzer at the age of just 15, where he ended up staying for a full 15 years and advanced to mate. It wasn't just at work that Jørgen Holm Christensen liked to sail, as he was also a passionate recreational sailor.

- I've been sailing ever since, and I've sailed around Zealand in a sailboat, where we set a record. Otherwise, there's only been a year and a half when I drove a truck, he says.

In September 1989, he took the big leap into independence as a shipowner. The first task for the newly purchased ship “Servus” was to sail out as supervisors to check the contractors’ work during the construction of the Great Belt Link. Later, the combined supply and tugboat “Lillebælt” was built at Rudkøbing Værft. Jørgens Øresund Bådservice grew larger and larger over time, and later the guard boats “VTS Guard” and “Kattegat” were added. The latter two were used for patrolling.

The work on the Great Belt Link and the Øresund Bridge went well, and those were golden times as a shipowner. And Jørgen Holm Christensen was in Copenhagen so much that he fell for a temptation from another industry.

- I bought two restaurants in Copenhagen. First, I came to the Ferry Cafe in Christianshavn a lot, and then I bought it. Later I bought Frikadellen on Langelinje, he tells about a life in the fast lane with enough money.

- It was funny, I could just call the bank and buy Færgecafeen for 2 million. DKK and later Frikadellen for one million. DKK, says Jørgen Holm Christensen about something that didn't end well.

- I managed to sell the Færgecafeen again, but I lost all the money on Frikadellen. I thought that all the cruise passengers would buy frikadellen when they get off in Copenhagen. But cruise guests eat it all on board, because it's already paid for, laughs Jørgen Holm Christensen.

Jørgen Holm Christensen has never lost his optimistic spirit, and spilled milk is not something to cry over.

Offshore wind: The early days

Then came the time when offshore wind began, and it was not like today.

- It was in the year 2000 that I started sailing with wind turbines on Middelgrund. I bought three boats that were converted to be able to sail offshore wind. They were the forerunners of the CTVs that sail today, says Jørgen Holm Christensen.

He remembers that time very well.

- I was the only one to service the wind turbine transport at that time, he says.

At the Swedish offshore wind farm Bergkvara, Øresund Bådservice also tried its hand at something new.

- We replaced a nacelle together with a jack-up crane. We sailed the defective nacelle into port and sailed a new one out, which was lifted into place from the deck, says Jørgen Holm Christensen.

Femern A/S has been presented with Jørgen Holm Christensen's statements about the broken verbal agreement and has had the opportunity to respond. Should Femern A/S report back later, the response will be added here.