The Port of Rotterdam Authority is currently examining whether it would be realistic to expand its new dredging programme in Rotterdam with water injection dredging. The current study fits within the Port Authority’s PRISMA research programme, which looks into new dredging methods and how sediment reacts to these techniques. The purpose of PRISMA is to improve the efficiency of dredging in the port area and reduce the associated carbon emissions.

The Port Authority is responsible for keeping Rotterdam’s basins and waterways at the required depths. Every year, some 5 million cubic metres of dredged material are removed from the port basins – equivalent to around 500 football pitches covered with a metre-thick layer of spoil.