Brand New Ferry Terminal in Aarhus Equipped With SFT Double Cone Fender Systems

The ferry connection between Jutland and Zealand is an important link for daily commuters in Denmark. More than 1 million cars and 2.5 million passengers travel annually with the ferry from Port of Aarhus, which is also the biggest industrial port in Denmark. The ferry terminal had been in the city center, causing an extreme amount of traffic jams. It was therefore decided to relocate the terminal from the city center and to use the free areas for ambitious urban development plans. The former harbor areas will be turned into attractive and modern residences in the near future.

At the brand new ferry terminal outside of the city center, owned by the the Port of Aarhus and operated by Molslinjen, larger ferries can berth, and even more ferries at once.

The berth and the pier head are entirely equipped with Double Cone Fender Systems, consisting of two rubber cone fenders and one steel panel. 21 sets of Double Cone 800 Fender Systems protect the berth while 9 sets protect the pier head. The steel panels for all systems vary in height and length and were customized according to the need of the vessels (steel panels range between 4,750mm x 2,900mm).

The heavy-duty beltings of the ferries had an important impact on the final design of the fender systems as well as on the geometry of the steel panel. To make sure that the steel panels can withstand the heavy-duty beltings from the ferries’ hull, both an extremely thick steel frontal plate as well as very large chamfers on the side of the fender panels were considered. The chamfers make sure that the beltings do not get stuck on or below the panel and cause severe fender damages.

Molslinjen is operating some of the fastest and largest ferries in the world. Steffen Maagaard Jensen, Port Facility Manager at Molslinjen, shares his thoughts with us: “The Cooperation between SFT and Molslinjen was as always good. For us as a ferry operator, high-quality fenders are extremely important so that maintenance on the hull can be kept to a minimum. The fender system from SFT was our wish as the operator since the other bidders were not able to fulfill our desire.”

The new ferry terminal in Aarhus is expected to open in October 2020. Our pre-assembled fender systems have already been delivered to the job site and some of them have already been installed. Our Sales Manager supervised the first steps during a recent site visit.

We wish our client Port of Aarhus, the contractor MT Højgaard and the operator Molslinjen a successful finalization of the construction works and look forward to seeing our fenders in operation soon