The Norwegian Coastal Administration will build the world’s first full-scale tunnel for ships.
The Stad ship toll-free tunnel will be 2.2 kilometres long, 50 metres high and 36 metres wide, giving vessels up to the size of the coastal lines Hurtigruten and Kystruten a safe passage through the treacherous Stadhavet Sea. The project, first proposed in the late 19th century, is expected to be completed in 2026.
According to Maritime Executive, the area experiences stormy conditions about 30% of the time, and some 33 seafarers have lost their lives in nearby waters in the last 80 years. Ancient Vikings used to haul their boats over a pass on the peninsula in order to avoid having to brave the journey around it in the bad weather.
Norwegian regulators have been studying the idea for decades and gave the tunnel the green light in 2020. The tunnel will be big enough to allow the passage of Hurtigruten's Coastal Express passenger ferries, as well as smaller vessels like North Sea OSVs.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration (the Kystverket) has allocated an initial investment of $325 million to the project and plans to bid it out on a fixed-price design/build contract basis. The tunnel has fendering on the sides to keep vessels safely in line, mooring piers at each, end and escape walkways for crew/passenger evacuation.
Kystverket is reaching out to suppliers of technical solutions that could be adapted for use in a ship tunnel.
"Although we are good at operating tunnels in Norway, this tunnel has completely different dimensions and will be built in a completely different environment to those we are used to. The technical equipment must be able to withstand sea water, corrosion, fog - conditions that are totally different to those in a normal road tunnel,” Terje Skjeppestad, project manager for the Stad ship tunnel said.
Skjeppestad's team wants to engage with suppliers early in the procurement process to solicit useful solutions. However, the prime contractor will have the responsibility for the final product.
“We would . . . encourage suppliers who have experience of project planning and installation of technical equipment in road and railway tunnels, for example, to contact the project,” he said.
Suppliers can email stad.skipstunnel@kystverket.no to engage with the developers.
