Posted on July 8, 2026
By Maria Heloisa Barbosa Borges
At the Port of Hanstholm, at the northwest tip of Denmark, one of the most impressive coastal protection works in Europe is advancing: a giant breakwater, nicknamed the “wall in the ocean,” erected over the North Sea with the world’s largest triple-boom excavator, capable of laying concrete blocks of up to 33 tons on the seabed. The project costs about US$ 156 million, according to the video that brought it to the public.
The scene impresses those who watch. According to the channel Earthmovers Media, Denmark is erecting at the Port of Hanstholm a breakwater costing about US$ 156 million, the largest ever built in the country, using the largest excavator in the world in its category to deposit huge concrete blocks on the North Sea floor, in a breathtaking coastal protection project.
The numbers confirm the gigantism. According to the technical page of Cubipod, responsible for the concrete pieces of the project, the main breakwater is about 396 meters long and receives thousands of special concrete blocks, including 175 units of 30 to 33 tons, designed to withstand waves over 8 meters high.
Next, see what this “wall in the ocean” is, how the largest excavator in the world that builds it works, why the North Sea demands such a brutal project, how much the breakwater at the Port of Hanstholm costs, and what all this has to do with the coast of Brazil.
What is the “wall in the ocean” that Denmark is building in Hanstholm
First, it is necessary to clear up a misunderstanding. Denmark’s “wall in the ocean” is not a smooth concrete wall, but a breakwater, a barrier of stone and concrete blocks that extends into the sea to break the force of the waves before they reach the port, protecting ships, docks, and basins.
The project is located in an extreme place. The Port of Hanstholm is at the northwest tip of Denmark, fully exposed to the North Sea, one of the most storm-battered maritime environments in the world, and it is precisely for this reason that the city needs a breakwater worthy of the fury of those waters.
The size is a national record. The new breakwater at Port of Hanstholm is described as the largest ever built in Denmark, with the main jetty reaching about 396 meters in length, part of a port expansion that includes new docks, dredging, and more area to operate.
The nickname, then, makes sense. Seen from afar, with the largest excavator in the world stacking concrete blocks into the water, the breakwater indeed looks like a wall rising from the ocean, a powerful image that helped the coastal protection project go viral when the video aired.
