Visser & Smit Hanab

Visser & Smit Hanab, a Dutch infrastructure contractor, was contracted by Equinor and Polenergia on 17 September 2024 for horizontal directional drilling (HDD) works in the landfall area approximately three kilometres west of the port of Ustka for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farm projects. The contract scope covers execution of four HDD bores, each approximately 1.2 kilometres in length, to create subsea-to-shore cable ducts enabling trenchless installation of the four 220 kV HVAC offshore export cables beneath the beach and coastal zone. Each bore produces a duct with an outside diameter of approximately 90 centimetres, routed at a depth of 20 to 30 metres underground to preserve the beach environment and avoid disruption to the tourist and natural amenity of the Ustka coastline. The contractor also constructs four underground transition joint bays (TJBs) in the village of Lubiatowo in the commune of Choczewo, Wejherowo County, where the offshore cable sections connect to the onshore cable sections. The HDD works were reported to have been completed by early 2026, with Polenergia confirming that the pilot HDD boreholes near Ustka were successfully drilled during 2025.