Hanstholm Havneforum - Side 1

44 Fishing in. October 2011 www.intrafish.com Denmark’s sleepy fish city LANDINGS: Much of the fish delivered to Hanstholm is from foreign vessels, such as Cuxhaven trawler Bianca. A Belgian beam trawler can be seen behind Sylvia Bates A small, seemingly quiet town in the north of Denmark, Hanstholm has since its inception in 1967 become one of the main fishing centres in Denmark, and the sleepy initial impression hides a buzzing business community. In recent years a significant proportion of the vessels landing in Hanstholm have come from all over the Europe. The harbour already offers comprehensive service, as well as access to the largest fish auction in Denmark and a significant concentration of seafood businesses. Now the port authorities, with the support of the local municipality, are looking to enlarge the port radically, with the aim of attracting more vessels and more business. Just as FNI arrived in Hanstholm, Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary had recently left after calling at the port on their Dannebrog Tour, the annual royal cruise, during which the Crown Prince spent a morning at the fish auction, successfully selling some boxes of lobster in front of an appreciative crowd. Developing the port The technical manager for the port of Hanstholm, Peter Nymann, outlined the impressive new plans for the harbour. “The harbour was built in 1967 and it is an efficient design so far, one that has been used all over the world. But we want to expand, improving the flow of fish and services,” he explained. Currently the harbour is home to several different maritime sectors, including wave turbines, ferries, freight vessels as well as the fishing fleet. StrAtEGy: Hanstholm’s technical manager Peter Nymann has some farreaching plans for the development of the port of Hanstholm “We want Hanstholm to become a centre for commerce and employment, with different skills and a diverse workforce,” Peter Nymann said. The plans, which are undergoing environmental assessment, are projected to finish in 2016. “The biggest hurdle is the breakwater. Until that is built, we will not make money – and it’s a big investment.” But when completed, the port of Hanstholm will have tripled in size, with separate areas for ferries, freight vessels, offshore platforms; “and the entire area if the existing harbour will just be for the fishing fleet.” The plans also incorporate another aspect of maritime industry – energy. The breakwater incorporates placements for wind turbines and a section for prototype wave turbines, already a fixture in Hanstholm. Expanding the harbour without radically changing the existing structure will benefit the fishing vessels as well. “It will be sheltered from the newer sections as well as the sea, making the water there much calmer and safer.” Alongside this ambitious project is a comparatively modest plan for a new dry dock. “We want to be able to offer different services to all. When the new plans are complete, the dry dock will be incorporated into the new port,” Peter Nymann explained. The dry dock is planned for completion in 2012. The new space will also serve to ease the flow of traffic within the breakwater walls. “The new space will let use receive larger vessels and their catches who are free to land anywhere they want. Hanstholm already is the place where most vessels in Denmark land their catch, but fishing vessels are getting bigger, which we need to cater for in the coming years.” A further aspect of the new plans is to streamline the auction halls. At present Hanstholm has four auction halls located across the compact harbour front. “We will centralise with one big hall. This will improve logistics and the flow of fish, improving the quality even more and proving even better service.” The daily fish auction in Hanstholm is more than double Auctioneer Jes Holm Sørensen in action at the Hanstholm auction the size of its next competitor, and while Hanstholm already has an excellent its service and turnaround time, the new facilities will make the fish handing system even more efficient, allowing the port authorities to ensure quality systematically as well as standardising the service and produce. The projected growth for Hanstholm’s port will contribute significantly to the local area, as the port already employs over 2000 people, around 10% of the municipality. Hanstholm is home to 104 companies, of which the majority are focused on maritime industry. “The town is already separate from the harbour so there will be no problems with noise or smell. With infrastructure here for the vessels, we can also see more businesses coming here to Hanstholm,” Peter Nymann said. The challenge is to stay at the top The first stop for every fishing vessel coming into Hanstholm is one of the sorting centres. The Hanstholm Seafood Centre is a one of these and is also the most technologically modern facilities in Europe. Administrative director Freddy Nielsen told FNI that the sorting machinery on the floor is that most modern in Europe. The system is safer, designed to give the workforce as many ergonomic benefits as possible – eliminating the heavy lifting and the bad backs that go with it. “This means that we keep staff who would have left already and it makes it more attractive for new people to come and work here,” he said. “We looked at the landing patterns, making the process more modern, more efficient. Right now it is the best in Europe. We can move things SALES:

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