Van Oord's Vox Alexia has started working at the 656,000-square-metre site that will house Poland's first floating storage regasification unit (FSRU; currently under construction in South Korea) and its second large-scale LNG import terminal.

Dredging, to be carried out in four phases, was preceded by clearing metallic objects from the seabed.

The first stage involves increasing the seabed depth in the area of the future jetty.

Then, dredging will be continued in the immediate vicinity, up to the breakwater (to be constructed by the Maritime Office in Gdynia).

The two final stages will cover the southern and eastern parts of the offshore construction site.

After dredging, pile driving will start.

Once commissioned at the turn of 2027/28, the FSRU, alongside onshore in-process storage and regasification infrastructure, will be able to handle over six billion cubic metres of natural gas per year.

The preparatory works are grant-supported (up to €19.6 million) through the EU's Connecting Europe Facility.

"The commencement of the preparatory works at sea constitutes yet another important step in the implementation of the FSRU Programme. Increasing the seabed depth in the area of the future terminal is not only a prerequisite for the safe manoeuvring and mooring of heavy vessels with large draught, but also a foundation for the efficient operation of all of the infrastructure," commented Sławomir Hinc, President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM.

Photo: GAZ-SYSTEM