”One foot in the water, the other on the shore”
Terramare Oy has begun to build the quay for the new passenger terminal. According to Managing Director Hannu Tomperi, the project is being implemented by the special forces of marine construction.
The big hydraulic piling hammer on board ship Nordic Titan comes down and the massive steel pile again moves a little deeper.
Hannu Tomperi, Managing Director of Terramare Oy tells that the piling vessel still has a lot of hammering to left do. More than 300 massive steel piles with a length of 40–45 metres will be sunk in the foundation of Turku’s new passenger terminal; some will be placed straight and others intentionally in an oblique position.
The old pier has already been demolished, and the reinforcement work of the anchor plate has been started with concrete piling. A total of 12,000 cubic metres of concrete will be used for the building of the quay itself.
“There is so much clay at the bottom and the hard subsoil is located so deep that a higher number of heavy steel piles than usually is required for the quay”, Mr Tomperi mentions.
Marine construction calls for heavy-duty equipment
According to the Managing Director, the project is implemented by the special forces of marine construction. Some heavy-duty equipment is needed.
“The equipment used in marine construction is massive, because in harbours the working depth is typically 10–18 metres. The excavator used in dredging can be easily tens of times the size of a standard excavator used on land.”
The operator of the excavator is unable to see the bottom. He or she follows the computer screen and the image generated of the target using location and sounding data.
Marine construction is also carried out in extremely varying conditions:
“In the summer in good weather it’s of course nice on the seashore. But in the winter it’s not so much fun when it’s sleeting horizontally. Luckily the Port of Turku has a rather sheltered location”, Mr Tomperi contemplates.
Employees living in Turku can go home for the night
The Managing Director tells that the quay of Ferry Terminal Turku is an exceptionally fine and imposing project for the company.
“It’s also nice for us that our numerous employees who live in Turku can go home in the evening after a day at the construction site.”
In addition to building the quay, Terramare will also install on it a critical element, the access ramp needed by passenger ferries.
The quay of the new passenger terminal will advance far by the end of this year, and the finishing work will be performed in summer 2026.
Text: Matti Välimäki
Photos: Ilari Välimäki
Plenty of work around the world
Terramare has been building on the shores of the Baltic Sea for 60 years. In addition to constructing quays, the company carries out, for example, fairway dredging and underwater excavation. It operates in all of Europe, there are currently projects underway e.g. in England and Lithuania.
Presently part of the major Dutch group Boskalis, Terramare has a berth for its equipment in Loviisa.
“As a large proportion of the Netherlands is located below the sea level, they have enormously know-how in marine construction and protecting against the effects of seawater”, Hannu Tomperi points out.
Boskalis has built, for example, support structures on the English coast, aimed at preventing the progress of erosion. The company has also worked in the Maldives where parts of the group of islands are elevated by using soil pumped from the sea.
“Climate change is already reflected in all our business operations, but in Finland less so compared to the rest of the world. The sea level has risen, and the storms are more severe than before. There is an increasing need for the expertise of marine construction professionals and protective measures”, Mr Tomperi sums up.
