Maintenance dredging in Belgian Coastal Ports, Belgium

Maintenance dredging in Belgian Coastal Ports, Belgium

The ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend are important gateways to European markets. These roll-on/roll-off and deepsea container ports are among the most important ports in Belgium. In order to have sufficient depth in these ports and in the navigation channels, the Government of Flanders, the Maritime Access Division, has dredging works carried out so that shipping from and to Belgium always remains possible.

The joint venture Noordzee en Kust, consisting of Dredging International, Jan De Nul Group and Baggerwerken De Cloedt & Zoon, is carrying out the maintenance dredging work with trailing suction hopper dredgers Sanderus and Alexander von Humboldt. In 2020, the vessels dredged more than 12,000,000 tonnes of dry solids in the ports and channels.

A specificity of this project is the environmentally friendly measures enthusiastically taken by the joint venture, encouraged by the Flemish Authority. One of the measures is to equip the vessels with a state-of-the-art filter system that treats exhaust gases and prevents emissions of nanoparticles. Such vessels are called ULEv (Ultra-Low Emission vessel), the Sanderus being one such. Alexander von Humboldt on the other hand, sails on 100% renewable biofuel which significantly reduces fossil CO2 emissions. This way, we are aiming for better air quality.

The contract commenced in January 2017 and initially ran until January 2020, but thanks to the positive cooperation, the works now run until the beginning of 2022.