PORT DIGS DEEP FOR BIGGER VESSELS

The Scottish Port of Stornoway, off the northwest coast of Scotland in the Outer Hebrides, is closing in on its goal to open a deepwater port by the end of this year. Already thousands of tonnes of rock have been blasted away, quay walls piles have been installed and a berth for 300+ metre vessels has been designed.

Designed by marine civil engineers Wallace Stone, contractors McLaughlin & Harvey are on target with works that will make a huge difference to the facility.

Dredging carried out by the Boskalis dredge pipe using teeth and water jets will remove up to half a million tonnes of material from the seabed, and most will be placed in a reclamation area. Rock platforms will be extended and widened and the installation of quay wall piles, 43% of which were completed in January, will continue.

When finished, the port will be able to cater for offshore wind vessels and the world’s largest cruise liners, the Stornoway Port Authority says.

“The multi-purpose facilities at Deep Water Terminal will provide a berth for vessels up to

360m long with a water depth of 10m below Chart Datum, a ferry berth, and 6.5 hectares of land for unloading, storage and industrial uses,” says the Authority.