2023: An evenTFUL YEAR FOR Port of KARMSUND
. Photo: Øyvind Sætre.
2023 is coming to an end and we are leaving behind an exiting year for the Port of Karmsund. So much has happened during 2023 that a summary is not an easy task, but here is a small selection of highlights from the year that we are now putting behind us.
COOPERATION WITH HYDRO ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF OFFSHORE WIND PORTS
13th of June, Karmsund Wind AS(subsidiary of Port of Karmsund) and Hydro signed a letter of intent to investigate cooperation around the development of a 660-acre new port, close to Hydro’s industrial area on Karmøy. The project has been given the name “Haugesund Wind Port, Haavik”. The port will be developed to be able to assemble offshore wind turbines for fixed and floating offshore wind, as well as for other port purposes.
Filling of masses from the rogfast project
In June, we received our first masses from the Rogfast project for filling at Haugesund Cargo Terminals, Husøy. More than 1.3 million cubic meters of rock mass will be filled at Husøy until the summer of 2025. When the filling is complete, the cargo terminals at Husøy will be among the very largest in Norway.
BORDER CONTROL STATION IN COOPERATION WITH MATTILSYNET
On 9th of March, Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård declared the border control station formally open, in front of 150 guests. The border control station is the only full-scale border control outside the Oslofjord and is a long-awaited offer for business from Egersund to Kirkenes. The last time a similar station was opened in Norway was in Larvik in 2011. In his speech, the minister emphasized what the establishment means: “The border control station will bring a lot of activity and sea transport to the region. Which in turn creates growth and values both locally and regionally, but also nationally – we are officially even a little closer to the rest of the world.”
As a result of the EEA agreement, Norway is part of the outer border of the EEA area. In order to protect public and animal health in Europe, all products of animal origin and live animals must undergo a veterinary check before they are allowed into the EEA area. In just a few months, this station has become Norway’s largest, and it plays an important role in ensuring safe imports in order to maintain high standards for food safety and animal health.
SEAFOOD FACTORY FOR CONCHILIA / ÅKRA SEAFOOD
In collaboration with Conchilia AS (with family Witzøe / Kverva as the largest owner), Karmsund Havn Eiendom AS(subsidiary of Port of Karmsund) has built a factory building for Åkra Sjømat on Husøy.
The 3,000 square meter factory was commissioned just before the summer and is Conchilia’s most modern and efficient factory for the production of seafood, and the most modern crab factory in Norway. Åkra Sjømat itself invests in machinery and equipment for the factory. The factory will have a production capacity of over 2,500 tonnes of crab!
ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTRAL WAREHOUSE FOR AKER BIOMARINE
Through an agreement with Sea-Cargo AS, Karmsund Havn Eiendom AS has built a 5,000 square meter warehouse at Haugesund Cargo Terminals, Husøy. Aker BioMarine ASA has decided to make Husøy its EU hub and has now established significant storage capacity at Husøy. Aker Biomarine is among the largest users of the new border control station at Husøy.
eco-lighthouse certified, and first year WITH our OWN ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
On Tuesday 23rd of May, Port of Karmsund was visited by an experienced certifier for the ECO-lighthouse. After a full day of auditing the way we work with various aspects within the environment, we got a positive conclusion: Approved without deviation. This means that the Port of Karmsund’s environmental standards and routines have been found to be in accordance with the ECO-lighthouse criteria. The business can thus document that strict criteria within the topics of working environment, purchasing, energy, transport, waste, emissions and aesthetics are satisfied.
Port of Karmsund focuses on shore power and Intelliport (electric cars, electric crane, electric truck), and works actively with environmental work and continuous improvements.
During the year, Port of Karmsund also submitted its first environmental and sustainability report, together with the annual report. This underlines the port’s commitment to running its business in a sustainable manner and taking responsibility for the environment. The values of Port of Karmsund, which are forward-looking, proactive and inclusive, are clearly reflected in the results that have been achieved. These values are crucial to fulfilling the port’s vision of being a forward-looking logistics hub in the North Sea basin.
FIRST TIME OVER 40,000 TEU!
In 2023, for the first time, we passed over 40,000 TEU over Haugesund Cargo Terminals, Husøy. On Monday 18th of December, “NCL Haugesund” from the Haugesund shipping company North Sea Container Line docked and unloaded what became container (TEU) no. 40,000!
The “magic” container was a 20 ft container from A.P. Moller – Maersk! NCL was the shipping company that seriously invested in Haugesund as a container port in the 90s and has been a significant contributor to the fantastic growth that has taken place in the port. It was therefore of extra meaning that it was an NCL ship that had the honour of landing number 40,000.
Port of karmsund is port of the year
Since 2007, the Seatrade Cruise Awards has been the platform to showcase the best of the global cruise industry and is recognized as the highest accolade in the cruise industry. Karmsund Harbour/Haugesund Cruise Harbor is the first Norwegian harbor to be named cruise port of the year in the world. In tough competition with Greek Thessaloniki and Canadian Saint John. This year was a record year in every way, with over 370,000 passengers distributed over around 130 calls.
shore power for cruise ships in place
Just before the summer, the shore power facility at the cruise port in Haugesund was ready. In collaboration with Haugaland Kraft, Port of Karmsund has established Havnekraft, which is responsible for the ownership and operation of all Port of Karmsund’s shore power facilities. The facility is among the first in Norway and among the 40 shore power facilities that have been established for cruise ships in the world. This is a significant step forward in the port’s sustainability efforts and helps to reduce the environmental impact of cruise traffic.
EXPANDED CONTAINER TERMINAL
Early in the new year, the cargo terminal was expanded with construction stage no. 3. The terminal has increased its capacity significantly and we have now started work on designing a new quay facing Karmsundet, which will significantly increase the capacity of the cargo terminal. The new quay will have a depth of 16 m to be able to handle larger ships. We are now established as one of the largest cargo terminals in the country and set up for further growth.
NEW CONTRACTS
It is gratifying to report that within all segments we have made new, large agreements that will provide a large increase in activity in the years to come. The order reserve and contract coverage have never been greater for the company, which provides security in troubled times in the world. The financial results for 2023 are very solid.