Tearing down old garage to build new quay

Text and photo: Sveinung W. Jensen, Tellus Kommunikasjon

“This is a labor-intensive operation that will take a few months,” says John W. Nilsen, General Manager of Farmar.

The morning sun is low in the sky and hits the welder from Farmar as the lift lifts him up from the ground. The target is the top of a steel grid. There are 16 of them in total, linking a structure that was built in the 1980s when Bredero Price was involved in coating and shipping large pipes.

THE STEEL LATTICES will be dismantled and temporarily stored on the quay before being sent for recycling. It is a painstaking task.

Fortunately, the welder has three skilled Farmar colleagues with him. Assisting them is the barge Ponton 9, which serves as a platform for one of the lifts used in the operation.

Alongside is the crane vessel Farmar Aton, which lifts the steel beams onto the deck as they are unscrewed and cut loose from the rest of the structure.

LAST AUTUMN, Farmar acquired the neighboring property in Lundevågen, which consists of 25 acres of harbor area. The plan is to integrate the site with the current base.

“The old garage has long been an obstacle for the large vessels. When we have a quay all the way around, we will be able to utilize the area much more efficiently,” says Nilsen.

QUAY CONSTRUCTION will begin on the opposite side of the bay. The largest steel beams from the garage facility will be reused as support pillars for the new quay, while the old concrete elements will be repurposed as friction plates.

Finally, a deck will be cast on top. The goal is to reuse over 90 percent of the concrete and steel in the new infrastructure.

“We have applied to build the quay facility in four phases. In the long term, we’ll see if the area will also house new buildings,” Nilsen says.