There is life in Hvide Sande already in the spring months, even on the bitterly cold days when the sun does not shine. It is a sum of life, the German tourists have long since arrived, and there are herring fishing tourists almost wherever you look.
The cohesion between town, port, tourists and commercial fishermen is already there. The fact that Hvide Sande has just lost the competition to become a service port for the upcoming offshore wind farm Thor to Thorsminde Port does not hurt Port Director Poul Erik Jessen too much. For one thing, the port is already a service port for the Horns Rev 3 wind farm, and it will be for Vesterhav Nord & Syd.
- There will be plenty of work for all the ports on the West Coast. The distance to Thor is one hour shorter each way, and that was probably what made the difference, explains the port director.
But there is plenty to be happy about already in Hvide Sande, and it has something to do with Vattenfall's upcoming operations & maintenance center.
- We have already made the agreement with Vattenfall, who will establish their O&M center here in town with an expected start-up in spring 2023. We expect that 56 direct jobs will come out of it. At the same time, we expect that it can provide up to 30 extra jobs with the subcontractors here in town, says Poul Erik Jessen.
Even though Thor has been lost, the ambitions are fully there to win other projects.
- We must work purposefully with offshore. There is huge potential here for us. I am thinking both of the energy island and upcoming wind farms. It could also possibly be CCS, says Poul Erik Jessen, who emphasizes that fishing is and will remain an important part of Hvide Sande Port.
- It is no secret that fishing is challenged, but we will in no way discontinue fishing. On the contrary, we will stand together with the fishermen to develop all elements of the fishing value chain. There must be an optimal port infrastructure for the fishermen. Here I am thinking of the entire value chain from when the fish is caught until it reaches the end user, he says.
The city, the port and tourism
- This is what it looked like, says Poul Erik Jessen, showing me a photograph of Hvide Sande Port in 1932, where the port had been built before.
It provided good conditions for fishermen in the 1930s and there is a reason why the city, port and fishing belong together to this day.
- The city and the port are each other's necessary prerequisites. That is why we, as a port, meet with incredibly great goodwill and understanding. People support and accept the port. It also means a lot for tourism, which is an active port with the fishing industry here. We as a port play an important role in the development of the city, says Poul Erik Jessen, who took up his position in August 2021. He has previously been technical manager at the Port of Aarhus, among other things.
The director also has no doubt that there are areas that are not suitable for the Port of Hvide Sande.
- We are good at offshore wind service. We do not have the land area to become a shipping port. It is not an area that we expect anything from. There are others like the Port of Esbjerg that are good at that, says Poul Erik Jessen in conclusion.
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