The Muuga terminal project in Estonia is moving ahead just as planned this winter, and the only obstacle could be a period of temperatures so far unusually far below the freezing point, that ice will cover the water in the working area...

Cold weather is no problem for the Rohde Nielsen dredgers – just as heat isn’t in other parts of the world – and when a violent winter storm recently hit the Estonian cost, the only problem for the project was that the 150 meter long steel extra pipeline just welded together on the newly reclaimed sand area no longer was entirely on land – part of the sand beach had been washed away in the storm leaving one end of the pipe in the water, stuck in the seabed – and this kind of incidents does not even qualify as problems for a project manager like Niels Hansen with 19 years experience in the business - “it’s a challenge”.
Together with Area Manager Baltics and Russia, Ivo Veider he is overseeing the Rohde Nielsen A/S part of the expansion of the Muuga Terminal about 20 kilometers from Estonia’s capital, Tallinn.
Container terminals are popping up and expanding all over the world to meet the general demand for handling increasing volumes of goods, and Estonia is no exception. So far the output of the Muuga Container Terminal has been ever increasing – and still was according to the latest figures for third quarter this year.
Estonia joined the EU in 2 004 and has up till now seen fine growth rates with an increase in GNP in 2006 of no less than 11,4 pct. Estonia is neighbor to Finland, Latvia and Russia.

Going strong
Since October 2008 the company has worked with two dredgers to fill up 1,3 million cubic meters of sand and so far completed well over 25 percent of the task.
Ivo Veider being an Estonian himself is satisfied with the progress of project, which is performed as a joint venture between Danish contractors Per Aarsleff A/S (construction), local entrepreneur KPM (facilities on land) and Rohde Nielsen A/S, who is responsible creating the basis of the new terminal with sand from a winning area about 20 nautic miles from the site.
- So far we have employed the two dredgers Gefion R and Magni R working round the clock to fill the area of approximately 300 meters times 550 meters. They load the sand from the winning area, which is about two hours away in sailing time and bring it back to a submerged pipeline to pump it ashore – at the moment we are filling the sand up to four meters height to allow it to stabilize and settle. The permanent level is 2,5 meters, Niels Hansen explains.
The pipeline just mentioned – the extra one that had to be “gymnastized” by a bulldozer, an excavator and the muscles of the Magni R engines in a combined effort to get afloat after the storm – was a preparation for the arrival and the third dredger, Thor R.
As Niels Hansen puts it:
- The efficiency has to be 110 percent, so there is no room for waiting time for the vessels, when they are to unload the sand. It has to be a smooth operation, especially considering the relatively long sailing time. And with two pipelines we will always have one in reserve.
He describes the sand as being of good quality and thus fairly easy to work with, and the routines established for Gefion R and Magni R.

The new terminal area is stretching out from a former quay fenced by a coming sheet piling established by Per Aasleff A/S, and this part of the project is expected to be finished in April 2009. After that the waterway access to the terminal has to be cleared through deepening, and here Niels Hansen is considering the bucket dredger Ajax R.

A specialist job
For Rohde Nielsen the project involves three ships and two persons in land, bringing the total number of persons engaged up to 68 – the crews typically alternate with a matching collegue team every forth week, thus spending four weeks on the project and four weeks at home.
- It has to be experienced people to work on a sand dedger. It is a highly specialized job. A lot of people can navigate, but far from everyone can handle sand operation, Niels Hansen states.
The job also calls for a certain personal involvement to do it well, and Niels Hansen notices a healthy intern rivalry between not only the ships but also between the day and night shifts onboard each ship as well as between to alternating crews of each ship.
- As project manager I get the daily production reports from the ships - the sand dumped is carefully registered as our work is measured by how much land we create, he explains.

Never stop
As Niels Hansen – who has worked in very different countries all over the world - sees it, the experience gathered by Rohde Nielsen A/S during the last 40 years is an important asset, when it comes to winning tenders.
- But working hands on with the different projects experience is – together with good, modern equipment – a factor that makes it easier to perform. And to get the job done.
- This calls for careful maintenance of the ships and equipment. We follow a specific plan for repair and maintenance, but it is always a delicate balance between finishing the projects and planning for repairs. – We never gamble, but rely on our creativity to solve the problems of the day. Stopping is the very last option.
It is Niels Hansen’s job to secure the steady development of the project and to make the decisions needed. – Only one can make the decisions, but it is a team work to run a smooth operation.
And it is not just a question of completing a fine job. It has to be done in the right way. Safety and environmental awareness is a built in factor in the Rohde Nielsen concept, and Niels Hansen points out, that Rohde Nielsen A/S was one of the first - if not the very first – dredging companies in the world to obtain the ISM certificate, which was later accompanied by the ISO 9000 standard,