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DHI was founded by solving a challenging harbour development project almost 60 years ago. Since then, we've empowered more than 600 harbours, ports and terminals in 100 countries to make smarter water-related decisions that are better for the environment. We help port authorities and operators accommodate increasingly large ships and work with shipping companies to reduce their fuel costs and minimise biofouling.
 
Balance personnel safety, costs and environmental protection all at once
Ports are the gateways to globe trade, but many ports are challenged by keeping up with growing shipping volumes, larger ships and increasingly strict environmental regulations. At the same time, port and maritime safety authorities need to keep personnel safe, no matter the weather conditions and time pressure.
 
Increasing shipping demand also puts pressure on the shipping industry. Vessel speed and extensive marine biofouling are two reasons for high fuel expenses. With fuel accounting for up to 50% of marine transportation costs, it’s no wonder shipping companies are finding ways to not only avoid zones with strong counter currents, but also accurately predict the extent of biofouling on their vessels.

Solutions

Port operations and management

When time is money, efficient port operations is key. But more important is personal safety, and there can be no room for compromise in a busy port. These factors need to be balanced with protection of the environment during all stages of the port’s lifetime. By incorporating nature-based design into many aspects of the port and using online data insights, all of these needs can be met.

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Lowering environmental impact of Germany’s first floating LNG terminal

Marine modelling studies contributed to the safe design of Wilhelmshaven LNG terminal and validated low environmental impact on nearby waters and nature reserves
 
Germany relies on various energy sources to ensure supply for citizens and businesses. In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Germany took the initiative to build LNG receiving facilities at its Northern coast. Uniper started a project to build and operate the country’s first floating liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal with support from the government, which could provide up to 6% of the German gas demand. In building the terminal, there is a need to comply with safety and environmental obligations. DHI’s marine modelling studies and environmental impact assessments (EIAs) have helped Uniper establish safe design conditions and validated low environmental impact on nearby waters and nature reserves related to the terminal construction.
 
Challenge
Following the geopolitical situation and global natural gas supply crisis, Germany’s first LNG terminal in Wilhelmshaven gained rapid regulatory authority approval for construction in 2022. The terminal was built as a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU), which is in fact a special vessel that receives LNG from arriving vessels and converts it back to its gaseous state. The vessel will have a fixed and secure berth at the existing transshipment facility. During the planning and implementation phase of port and terminal projects, the safety of terminal design and accurate predictions of potential impacts on marine ecosystems are important factors to consider. What’s more, Uniper was facing a tight timeline to ensure that the country’s energy supply would not be disrupted. As such, they urgently needed to establish environmental design conditions for the Wilhelmshaven terminal to quantify and manage risks and impacts.
 
Solution
DHI provided Uniper with modelling studies and EIAs related to the construction of the Wilhelmshaven terminal. The modelling results contributed to the terminal’s design, safety and operability, and the EIAs ensured that environmental impacts were kept to a minimum. The solution included:
 

A detailed metocean study to get a full picture of the hydrographic conditions, such as wind, water levels, currents and waves
Environmental data for navigational safety for inbound and outbound carriers carried out in a Full Mission Bridge Simulator by our partner Nautitec
An investigation of dynamic mooring forces and vessel motions not only for the Wilhelmshaven terminal itself but also when an LNG carrier is moored simultaneously. This led to the identification of design conditions for the bollards and fenders of the terminal and threshold conditions for safe mooring.
Environmental impact assessments- Biocide concentrations: The public and mussel farmers in the area were concerned about the possible increase in biocide concentrations due to the terminal in Wilhelmshaven. The LNG terminal has been in operation for a year and is regularly monitored by the authorities with regard to the use of biocides. A so-called monitoring, which examines the effects on the Jade and the Jade Bay, has not identified any negative effects on the water after one year of operation. The discharge of cooled water in summer and heated water in winter was also no longer measurable in the water itself.- Fish and larvae migration: As the released water from the terminal is either warmer or colder than the ambient water, there were concerns that fish and larvae would not swim through it. DHI validated that no ‘temperature barriers’ have formed around the terminal and thus fish and larvae migration would not be affected. DHI also helped assess the potentially dangerous areas for fish and larvae in the vicinity of the terminal’s inlets. Knowledge of the extent of the affected area would allow Uniper to implement compensation measures.

 
Results
In December 2022, the Wilhelmshaven terminal started operations with its first import of LNG, sufficient to supply energy to 50,000 German households for a year. The terminal will handle 6% of Germany's future gas requirements and serve as a bridging technology towards a green future. In a later phase, the terminal will be equipped to switch to imports of low-carbon energy sources such as green hydrogen. DHI’s solution has:
 

Contributed to the fast operation of the Wilhelmshaven terminal thanks to accurate simulation covering hydrodynamics, thermodynamics, chemistry, waves, wind and dynamic mooring
Validated the low environmental impact of the terminal construction on nearby waters and nature reserves
Helped Germany ensure sufficient energy to power homes and businesses


Port of Virginia adopts new digital solution with immediate returns

Revolutionary digital port management system supports berth scheduling and mooring operations across its container terminals
 
As one of the top ports on the east coast, the Port of Virginia is committed to moving cargo safely and on-schedule. This commitment includes mitigating the impacts that severe weather can have on operations and the safety of ships at berth. The Port of Virginia successfully adopted NCOS ONLINE, a revolutionary science-based digital port management system, to support berth scheduling and mooring operations across its container terminals. The system was immediately put to the test when Hurricane Isaias hit the east coast of US in early August of 2020. Using NCOS ONLINE, the Port’s engineering department avoided US$0.5 million in costs, improved labour and resource planning, and reopened its terminals quicker after the storm passed.
 
Challenge
The Port of Virginia is a leading port on the East Coast and transporting cargo safely and on time is a top priority. This means that it is crucial for them to address and minimise the effects of severe weather on port operations and the safety of ships at berth. Where previous methods were costly and time consuming, the Port needed a tool capable of quickly calculating whether any mooring risks are present while the vessel is alongside under any forecast weather conditions.
 
Solution
The Port of Virginia adopted the NCOS ONLINE Mooring Analysis module to support decision-making at their terminals. This system combines advanced vessel response engines with high-resolution metocean models, enhancing accuracy and versatility in calculating vessel responses for larger and wider vessels. NCOS ONLINE empowers the Port of Virginia to fully utilise the capacity of their existing port and channel assets, ensuring the safety and efficiency of vessel traffic at all times through a high precision virtual environment with unprecedented accuracy.

Freeing space for central living and meeting demands for future port operations 
 
The Swedish city of Helsingborg is a thriving city in growth. The city needs more attractive living spaces for its citizens, and the city’s port needs to accommodate more and larger vessels. City authorities decided to kill two birds with one stone: to transform the existing commercial port into attractive living spaces close to the water and the commuter ferry to Denmark and to build a safe, automated and climate-neutral container terminal to accommodate current and future requirements.
 
Challenge
The Port of Helsingborg has grown together with the city over the years and is located in the heart of the city. This offers multiple challenges for urban development, and noise pollution, emissions from ships, machinery and port traffic also present challenges. The port is Sweden’s second-largest container port and is a critical port of import and export activities for the Southern part of Sweden.
 
The port and city authorities consequently decided to move the container terminal south of the city. This will free up space for central living, and the new port will be both deep and large enough to accommodate large vessels and increasing traffic as forecasts point to an even higher demand for container operations in the future.
 
But such a major construction project could have negative impact on the environment, not least the vulnerable and protected natural areas near the port. It was critical for the port and city authorities to ensure that the container terminal was designed to meet all needs, both present and future. The new port should also have minimal impact on the marine environment.
 
Furthermore, the currents around the port are very strong, and the decision-makers in the Port of Helsingborg knew that they would need more extensive data on the current and wave conditions than would be necessary in many other port construction projects. In other words, they needed detailed data on the potential consequences for both safety and environment with the new port to be able to make the right decisions.

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