Handling of wind turbines arriving at the Finnish port of Kaskinen has only been picking up since starting in February this year. A regular guest during the period has been ESL Shipping’s multipurpose vessel Kallio has brought more project cargo for the wind industry.

With its 160 metres in length and 21,353 dwt, Kallio takes almost all the space at quay 7. The delivery is only one of a total of 80 shipments scheduled to arrive at the location in the coming years.

The activity was strong enough for the port to venture into expanding its facilities to be better prepared to handle the demands of the wind industry. The Port of Kaskinen CEO, Patrik Hellman, said that there is expansion underway. A total of 4.5 hectares of storage space is being built just north of the main port.

“This is the first stage of expanding the port area and extending the quays by several hundred meters. We are preparing more space for more wind turbine components and for the planned new cardboard factory and additional infrastructure. Planning to deepen the fairway by 2-3 meters is also underway,” Hellman said.

All aboard

ESL Shipping did not disclose any information on whom the project cargo is for, but since the start of the year, Kallio, was a regular guest at the port, bringing in components for the Pjelax wind project in Närpes and Kristinestad, Finland.

The Pjelax project has recently produced its first power, according to the developer Fortum. The wind farm has a total of 56 wind turbines with a height of 240 metres, all of which came through the port of Kaskinen.

“The project is progressing really well and the installation of the wind turbines is finalised ahead of time schedule. The wind farm will be commissioned in phases so that commercial operation will start according to the target schedule during the spring of 2024,” Markus Rönnqvist, General Project Manager for the construction of the Pjelax project at Fortum.