Port of Skagen

The fishing harbour was built between 1904 and 1907, with inner and outer sections established under the supervision of hydraulic engineer Palle Bruun.

[4] The harbour consists of three main basins (docks with water levels controlled by flood gates): Ydre Forhavnsbassin, Vesthavn and Østhavn.

[5] The largest vessel to have visited Skagen Harbour is the cruise ship Silver Cloud with a length of 156 metres (512 ft), which moored on Quay 4 in 2010 and 2011.

While the Port of Skagen supervises the marina during the summer months, the facilities are used for berthing fishing boats in the off-season.

[10] After years of discussion between Skagen's fishermen and the authorities, a commission was finally established in the 1880s, leading to an early proposal for a harbour by Customs Inspector Holm that was not accepted.

On the basis of a bid from Gunnarson & Søn og Elzelingen, work was initiated in February 1904 on Skagen's Sønderstand (south shore) just outside the town.

[11] The work was supervised by the hydraulic engineer Palle Bruun who had reported on harbours in the Faroe Islands.

On 19 November 1907, King Frederik VIII ceremonially opened the port in the presence of the Skagen Painters, who had decorated the facilities with flags.

However, due to the German occupation during the war the project was postponed and it wasn't until 1952 that construction began, rising to a budget of 11 million kr.

[11] In 1985, the Auktionsbassin (the Auction Basin) of the port was deepened by some 7 metres (23 ft), as was the Vesthavnen (West Harbour) in the early 1990s.

[15] As of 2011, statistics from the Danish Fisheries Directorate list Skagen Harbour as the leading fishing port in Denmark in terms of both the quantity of catches and their value.

[16] Statistics for 2013 from NaturErhvervstyrelsen showed a year-on-year increase in fishing takings of 10 percent for a total value of DKK 3.4 billion (c. US $621 million).

Harbour director Willy Bent Hansen reported that the Port of Skagen now represented over 25 percent of all fish landed in Denmark.

[17] In April 2014, the 86-meter-long supertrawler "Gitte Henning" landed a record 3,281 tons of whiting in Skagen after returning from its maiden voyage, apparently the largest catch ever in Denmark.