New construction of the berth P8 in the Warnemünde Shipyard Basin began on 05 October 2007. Following a Europe-wide invitation to tender, the consortium (ARGE) Züblin/Aarsleff was awarded the contract for the construction. The total costs of this development project amount to around ten million Euros. The Ministry for Economic Affairs for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is funding the project at nearly seven million Euros, while Hafen-Entwicklungsgesellschaft Rostock is investing over three million Euros.

ARGE began preparatory work on the site in Warnemünde at the end of August, and divers cleared a 400-meter-long stretch of the base of the old berth. The first phase of execution will last until mid-April 2008 and entails the construction of a sheet pile wall 320 meters long, set three meters in front of the old wall and anchored on land. This phase of construction includes the complete exchange of the water floor at the area of the stretch of sheet pile wall to a depth of 17 meters. Hard marl soil will be excavated and gravel will be filled in the overlapping bore holes. Beginning in December, 17-meter-long sheet piles will be driven into the prepared bed. The gap between the old and new sheet pile wall will be filled in with gravel and sand and paved as a quay surface. At the beginning of next year, the water depth at the area around the berth will be dredged to around 10 meters, as necessary for navigation and maneuvering.

The second phase of execution lasting until the end of August 2008 entails the construction of an additional 145-meter length of the berth in the same manner. The configuration of the berth P8 will be modified so that following a 412-meter stretch of quay, a slight bend will be built to which an additional 53-meter quay length connects. Along with the waterside construction, the corresponding paving of the surfaces and adjustments of the berth will be carried out.

“This new berth allows us to keep pace with the developments in the international cruise industry regarding ship size. Alone in next year’s cruise season, of the more than 100 cruise ships already registered, over 50 have a length of between 250 and 300 meters”, comments Ulrich Bauermeister, Managing Director of Hafen-Entwicklungsgesellschaft Rostock.