Executive Summary

UNITECH’s Thunder Bay Marshalling & Mobilisation Port is a uniquely capable offshore operations base featuring an unmatched 125 metres of deepwater at the quayside.  Located adjacent to Eldøyane shipyard on the island of Stord, one of Norway’s most important maritime and offshore engineering hubs, the port serves as a high-capacity staging ground for floating wind, subsea cable deployment, heavy-lift operations and complex mobilisation activities. It is one of the most strategically valuable physical assets in UNITECH’s portfolio.

History & Background

Stord has long been a centre for Norwegian offshore engineering, shipbuilding, and heavy industry. Positioned near Eldøyane, home to major fabrication yards, assembly sites, and offshore contractors Thunder Bay has been developed by UNITECH into a dedicated marshalling, integration and mobilisation facility for large-scale offshore projects. Its unique depth profile, industrial infrastructure and access to air and road networks make it suitable for operations that most ports cannot support.

Technical & Operational Significance

• 125m water depth at the quayside, enables:
  • Mooring of deep-draft vessels, heavy offshore construction ships and prototype platforms
  • Handling and wet storage of floating wind units, cable structures, and subsea equipment
  • Operations impossible in conventional 10–30m-depth industrial ports
• Heavy-lift capability for major components, subsea structures, foundations, and large assemblies
• Cable handling and storage directly integrated with UNITECH’s cable and umbilical machinery
• Extensive laydown and mobilisation areas suitable for floating wind campaigns, subsea installations, prototype testing and defence-related maritime operations
• Immediate proximity to Eldøyane, providing access to fabrication yards, weld halls, assembly workshops, and specialist offshore contractors
• Secure industrial zoning, enabling project integration, staging, qualification and pre-deployment work
• Optimal North Sea access, shortening transit time for offshore installation vessels servicing Utsira Nord and other concessions.

This combination of deepwater, industrial zoning, and offshore supply-chain adjacency is exceptionally rare.

Commercial Value

Proximity to the matured Eldøyane port creates tangible and recurring commercial advantages:

• Eliminates high mobilisation and demobilisation costs at third-party yards
• Reduces vessel waiting time due to immediate deepwater readiness
• Provides a permanent base for floating wind assembly and staging
• Delivers integrated logistics for cable deliveries, storage and testing
• Supports contract revenue through third-party project mobilisation
• Creates a competitive differentiator in tendering for offshore campaigns

As demand for floating wind, subsea grids and strategic offshore infrastructure accelerates, high-capacity mobilisation sites with deepwater access are becoming critically scarce.

Strategic Relevance

Europe faces a structural shortage of suitable marshalling ports capable of supporting large-scale offshore renewables. Sites with over 100 metres of quayside depth are virtually nonexistent. Thunder Bay’s deepwater profile places it in a category of its own, backed by proximity to Eldøyane’s established industrial ecosystem.

The port is equally relevant for:

• Floating wind turbine assembly and sea trials
• Dynamic cable deployment and retrieval
• Offshore grid infrastructure
• Defence and subsea resilience operations
• Heavy offshore prototype development

In geopolitical and energy-transition contexts, Thunder Bay represents a strategically umatched capability.

Why It Matters

Thunder Bay Marshalling & Mobilisation Port provides immediate, industrial-scale operational capability without the cost, risk, or multi-year timeline required to create a comparable deepwater site.

For an energy major, offshore EPC, cable manufacturer, or defence organisation, the port offers:

• A turnkey deepwater mobilisation base
• Substantial cost and schedule savings
• Direct access to Eldøyane’s offshore supply chain
• Competitive advantage in floating wind and subsea grid deployment
• Long-term strategic positioning within Norway’s offshore industrial heartland

It is one of the most valuable & strategically placed offshore marshalling assets available in Northern Europe.