Van Oord has started work on a sand nourishment project for the Maasvlakte 2 area of the Port of Rotterdam. Maintaining the coast in this way ensures that nature itself will protect the port area and Rotterdam’s hinterland against the sea. The project was commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat, the executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, and is part of a wider programme aimed at protecting and reinforcing the Dutch coastline.

Van Oord is deploying LNG trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Apolonia to execute the project. A total of 1 million cubic metres of sand from the North Sea will be deposited on the Maasvlakte 2 beach and on the seabed just offshore. The Vox Apolonia will begin by dredging up sand from selected sections of the seabed located more than 10 kilometres from the coast. It will then deposit a portion of this sand on the seabed just offshore (foreshore nourishment). It will also use a pressure pipe to pump sand onto the beach (beach nourishment), where bulldozers and excavators will get to work spreading it out. In the months thereafter, weather and wind will cause a part of the sand to drift into the dunes, reinforcing the coast using the forces of nature.

What makes this project particularly special is that the Vox Apolonia is running on LNG, a more sustainable alternative to Marine Gas Oil (MGO) that reduces sulphur and particulate emissions to a minimum. The combustion process is also different to that of MGO, resulting in lower nitrogen dioxide emissions. Switching the fleet to this grade of alternative fuel brings Van Oord one step closer to meeting its target of net-zero emissions by 2050, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Maasvlakte 2 is familiar territory for Van Oord.  From 2008 to 2013, the company was part of the consortium that developed and executed this enormous port expansion project. Since then, Van Oord has continued carrying out projects in this port area, including the construction of the Prinses Amaliahaven container port and widening the Yangtze Canal.