Mammoet has completed a major marshalling project for two of Europe’s largest offshore wind farms, Nordseecluster A in Germany and Thor in Denmark, helping streamline logistics and cut transcontinental voyages.
Selected by Buss Ports in 2023, Mammoet managed the phased load-in, storage, and load-out of 116 XL monopile foundations at Buss Terminal Eemshaven in the Netherlands. The monopiles, weighing up to 1,500 tonnes and measuring up to 100 meters, will support joint projects by RWE (51%) and Norges Bank Investment Management (49%) with a planned capacity of 2.6 GW.
The operation involved complex engineering. Monopiles arrived in varying specifications and were transported transversely—protruding over vessel sides—to maximize each voyage. This required unloading the structures sideways using Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs) fitted with Buss’ custom saddle system.
Challenges included limited quay ground-bearing capacity, fast-changing tides, and unusual shipping configurations. To overcome these, Mammoet used a longer linkspan ramp and wooden mats to raise deck height, enabling two monopiles to be offloaded per tidal window instead of one. This efficiency increased delivery volumes to 10 monopiles per voyage rather than eight or nine.
The strategy reduced the total number of load-ins, sparing several 60-day sea voyages from China. Foundations were temporarily stored on sand bunds before final load-out into concrete cradles and transfer to installation vessels.
“By working closely with Buss and adapting to site constraints, we optimized both time and cost,” said Wouter Santen, Project Manager at Mammoet.
