The evening of Tuesday 28 October saw the arrival of the Aker Wayfarer, a vessel equipped to build offshore structures. It is the first offshore ship to use the new Franklin Offshore quay on the Heysehaven (port number 2610). This means that the Heysehaven has now been semi-officially reinstated as an offshore port, the company said in its press release.
During the last century, this port area was also used for that purpose. That was in the latter days of the famous RDM shipyard. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is currently transforming this old area into an ‘RDM Centre of Expertise’ and technical education, knowledge centres and businesses are working together on sustainable innovations which are needed for the Rotterdam economy. The Port Authority aims to make RDM the number one innovation centre for the manufacturing industry in Rotterdam.
The Aker Wayfarer came to the port of Rotterdam to pick up an Ampelmann from the company of the same name. Ampelmann - Franklin Offshore’s neighbour on RDM – is an offshore company that is specialised in an active compensating platform that makes the transfer from a moving ship to an offshore structure easier. This company opened its new commercial premises in the renovated Onderzeebootloods (submarine shed) in September.
Franklin Offshore, a multinational from Singapore, supplies products and services for mooring, lifting and transporting in the offshore market. It produces the strongest cables in the world in RDM’s Scheepvaartloods (shipping sheds).
The return of offshore to the Heysehaven (port number 2610) is in keeping with the Port of Rotterdam Authority’s policy to promote the maritime industry in the port of Rotterdam. The port of Rotterdam is located directly on the North Sea and has enough room to accommodate the very largest and heaviest vessels and floating objects. Furthermore, it has a cluster of dozens of businesses and suppliers specialised in offshore.
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