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TERRAETAQUAMaritime Solutions for a Changing World

100th!Number 100 | September 2005International Association of Dredging Companies

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100

International Association of Dredging Companies

COVER

An aerial view of downtown Hong Kong. Part of the burst of activities in the 1990s in Hong Kong was the expansion

of the Central Business area. Land reclamation extended the waterfront, breathing new life into an enlarged Central

Business District.

IADC

Constantijn Dolmans, Secretary General

Alexanderveld 84

2585 DB The Hague

Mailing adress:

P.O. Box 80521

2508 GM The Hague

The Netherlands

T +31 (70) 352 3334

F +31 (70) 351 2654

E [email protected]

I www.iadc-dredging.com

Editors

Marsha R. Cohen

Hans W.J. Poiesz

Editorial Advisory Committee

R.T. Berends, Chairman

C.P.I.M. Dolmans

H.A.J. Fiers

A.G.M. Groothuizen

P.G. Roland

H. Schellinck

R. Vidal Martin

H. De Vlieger

IADC Board of Directors

R. van Gelder, President

Y. Kakimoto, Vice President

C. van Meerbeeck, Treasurer

M. Montevecchi

P.G. Roland

G. Vandewalle

MEMBERSHIP LIST IADC 2005Through their regional branches or through representatives, members of IADC operate directly at all locations worldwide.

AFRICA

Nigerian Westminster Dredging and Marine Ltd., Lagos, Nigeria

Van Oord Nigeria Ltd, Ikeja-Lagos, Nigeria

THE AMERICAS

Ballast Ham Dredging do Brazil Ltda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Dragamex SA de CV, Coatzacoalcos, Mexico

Van Oord ACZ bv, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Van Oord Curaçao nv, Willemstad, Curaçao

ASIA

Ballast Ham Dredging India Private Ltd., Mumbai, India

Dredging International Asia Pacific (Pte) Ltd., Singapore

Far East Dredging Ltd. Hong Kong, China

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., Seoul, Korea

Jan De Nul (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Singapore

Penta-Ocean, Tokyo, Japan

Toa Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

Van Oord ACZ Marine Contractors bv, Shanghai, China

Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors Philippines Branch,

Manilla, Philippines

Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors bv Singapore Branch,

Singapore

Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors B.V. Korea Branch,

Busan, Republic of Korea

Van Oord Hong Kong Branch, Hong Kong, China

Van Oord (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Selangor, Malaysia

AUSTRALIA

Dredeco Pty. Ltd., Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd., Brisbane, QLD, Australia

MIDDLE EAST

Boskalis Westminster M.E. Ltd., Abu Dhabi, UAE

Gulf Cobla (Limited Liability Company), Dubai, UAE

Jan De Nul Dredging, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Jan De Nul Dredging Ltd. (Dubai Branch), Dubai, UAE

Van Oord Gulf FZE, Dubai, UAE

EUROPE

Aanemingsbedrijf L. Paans & Zonen bv, Gorinchem,

Netherlands

Atlantique Dragage S.A., Nanterre, France

Baggermaatschappij Boskalis B.V., Papendrecht,

Netherlands

Baltic Marine Contractors SIA, Riga, Latvia

Boskalis B.V., Rotterdam, Netherlands

Boskalis International B.V., Papendrecht, Netherlands

Boskalis Westminster Dredging & Contracting Ltd., Cyprus

Brewaba Wasserbaugesellschaft Bremen mbH, Bremen,

Germany

C.E.I. Construct nv, Zele, Belgium

DRACE, Madrid, Spain

Dravo S.A. – Italia, Amelia (TR), Italy

Dravo S.A., Lisbon, Portugal

Dravo S.A., Madrid, Spain

Dredging International N.V., Zwijndrecht, Belgium

Dredging International (UK) Ltd., Weybridge, UK

Heinrich Hirdes G.m.b.H., Hamburg, Germany

Jan De Nul Dredging nv, Aalst, Belgium

Jan De Nul nv, Aalst, Belgium

Jan De Nul (U.K.) Ltd., Ascot, UK

Mijnster zand- en grinthandel bv, Gorinchem, Netherlands

N.V. Baggerwerken Decloedt & Zoon, Oostende, Belgium

Sociedade Española de Dragados S.A., Madrid, Spain

Sodranord SARL, Le Blanc-Mesnil Cédex, France

Terramare Oy, Helsinki, Finland

Tideway B.V., Breda, Netherlands

TOA (LUX) S.A., Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Van Oord Nederland bv, Gorinchem, Netherlands

Van Oord nv, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Van Oord Offshore bv, Gorinchem, Netherlands

Van Oord UK Ltd., Newbury, UK

Westminster Dredging Co. Ltd., Fareham, UK

Terra et Aqua is published quarterly by the IADC, The International Association of

Dredging Companies. The journal is available on request to individuals or organisations

with a professional interest in the development of ports and waterways, and in

particular, the associated dredging work. The name Terra et Aqua is a registered

trademark.

Please address enquiries to the editor. Articles in Terra et Aqua do not necessarily

reflect the opinion of the IADC Board or of individual members.

© 2005 IADC, The Netherlands

All rights reserved. Electronic storage, reprinting or abstracting of the contents is

allowed for non-commercial purposes with permission of the publisher.

ISSN 0376-6411

€ 10,- softcover, € 15,- hardcover.

Typesetting and printing by Opmeer Drukkerij bv, The Hague, The Netherlands.

FORTY YEARS OF MARITIME SOLUTIONSTHAT CHANGED THE WORLD

100th!

EDITORIAL

Forty years ago this year, sixty of the largest international dredging contractors from seventeen countries decided

the time had come to inform the world about the fundamental need for dredging and its benefits. This is how the

International Association of Dredging Companies was born. In the following years IADC grew to be recognised as

the umbrella organisation for the private dredging industry. With this recognition, IADC was invited to represent its

members at supra-governmental agencies and legislative bodies, like the World Bank, the International Maritime

Organisation, and the United Nations Environmental Program.

As IADC evolved, its different roles crystallised: it became the guardian of professional standards for the industry;

it became the advocate for fair contract conditions and fair competition; it became the facilitator for establishing a

platform for dynamic co-operation amongst the diverse parties involved in dredging. Membership in IADC is now,

after forty years, seen as a quality label in and of itself.

IADC has grown especially in its role as an educator: organising conferences and seminars, assisting in the

development of dredging-related curricula, promoting the field of dredging as a career choice, and presenting

awards to students. Most importantly, IADC publishes this magazine, Terra et Aqua, this quarterly technical and

scientific journal. It is Terra’s milestone issue #100 that you are holding in your hands. Since 1972 Terra et Aqua

has been the flagship publication of the IADC and one of the main means by which dredging information is being

disseminated to the world at large.

IADC has adapted to meet the new challenges posed by the evolving needs of clients, of technical innovation in

the industry, and of global conditions. You can see this by looking at the activities of the dredging contractors

themselves. Forty years ago the emphasis was on protecting the land against erosion and flooding, on

maintenance dredging: deepening access channels, canals, rivers, removing sedimentation from ports and

harbours. Those activities are still important. But nowadays the emphasis is far more on capital dredging, on

maritime infrastructure. Creating new ports, container terminals and LNG harbours. Reclaiming land for housing

and industrial parks. Constructing artificial islands as platforms for new airports to alleviate congestion and noise

pollution, preparing seabeds for oil and gas pipelines. Indeed, a transformation has taken place: the dredging

contractor has become a full partner in the development of maritime infrastructure.

Part of this transformation is the result of the amazing advances in dredging technologies. Jumbo trailing suction

hopper dredgers with a capacity of 35,000 tonnes. Drag arms with a reach of over 130 m. Stronger engines and

pumps. The advantages of the Global Positioning System. All these innovations and many more have kept the

production cost of a cubic metre of sand under control. This in turn opened new maritime infrastructure markets

and led to many impressive land reclamation projects.

Global conditions have also influenced changes in the dredging industry. The on-going world trade boom and the

need for improved shipping facilities; after all shipping is the least expensive and most environmental friendly

means of transportation. The expanding demand for energy and the need for new pipelines, oil rigs and platforms.

Global warming and the need for re-enforced coastal protection and intensive beach replenishment. Population

pressures in river deltas and along coastlines and the need for sustainable solutions through new maritime

infrastructures.

IADC’s slogan is “Dredging Companies that Care”. It defines who we are within our industry. It reflects the careful

way in which the member companies approach projects. Aware of the economic and environmental consequences.

With respect for professional standards and responsibilities. Full partners in the world’s most exciting maritime

infrastructure projects, always searching for innovative solutions. Confident that we can make a difference.

Robert van Gelder

President IADC

AQUATERRAET

2 Terra et Aqua | Number 100 | September 2005

WORLD-CLASS PORTS FOR GROWING WORLDWIDE TRADE 6

At all sides of the oceans, more trade means a need for extended port and harbour facilities, for improved waterborne transportation. Dredging activities and maritime infrastructure development arefundamental to these expansions.

PROTECTING 3 BILLION PEOPLE LIVING NEAR COASTS AND RIVERS 28

Nowadays the demand for creative solutions in coastal areas and along riversis as urgent as ever. Add the threat of rising waters from global warming tothe shortage of space in these desirable densely populated waterfront areas,and the need for increased and improved protection is clear.

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF MAKING MORE LAND FOR MORE PEOPLE 38

Everywhere on this finite planet Earth, cities and countries seem to be inneed of new land. Land for housing, recreation, and industrial purposes.Clearly there seems to be a shortage of living space. Especially at locationsclose to the water. The private dredging industry is ready and able to makethis land.

CONTENTS

Contents 3

THIS SPECIAL EDITION CELEBRATES THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF IADC AND THE 100TH ISSUE OF TERRA ET AQUA.


OIL, GAS, WIND: ENERGY FOR NOW AND THE FUTURE 58

Offshore platforms and submarine pipelines are essential links in bringingfuel to onshore customers. The increase in the need for platforms andpipelines means an increased need for dredging – to prepare the seabed, dig the trenches and then protect these pipelines and platforms with sand,gravel and rocks to assure that they stay put.

HOW TO MAKE THE POST-INDUSTRIAL WORLD GREENER 70

When the Port of Le Havre made plans for expansion in 2000, it also madeplans for Ilot Reposoir, a bird sanctuary. When Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kokwas being built, the corner of Lantau Island where the turtles nest wascarefully preserved. These environmental stories are not the exception. For the private dredging and maritime construction industry, they are the rule.

TIME OUT FOR FUN: OF BEACHES AND BOATS 82

No matter how much real estate development takes place along ourcoastlines, beaches are part of a natural cycle. They are affected by storms,hurricanes and erosion. Restoring, replenishing and repairing popularbeaches, and even creating whole new beaches is an essential activity ofdredging and maritime construction.

PEOPLE MAKE IT POSSIBLE 96

Each project described here represents the hard work of hundreds, if notthousands of people: engineers, dredging masters and their crews, projectmanagers, scientists, researchers, specialists in all areas of dredging andmaritime construction.

CONTENTS CONTINUED

TERRAETAQUA

100th!

FOREWORD

An essential partner in maritime infrastructure construction

What’s in a name? Is today’s dredging still dredging? In the 21st century the dredging company is first and

foremost “an essential partner in maritime infrastructure construction”, as the director of a port authority

expressed it. Dredging is an industry in constant transformation. It has evolved dramatically in the last forty years;

it has become far more complicated and far more sophisticated. At the same time good-old dredging continues to

flourish. Unclogging shipping arteries, clearing sediments from waterways, ports and harbours are still high on the

list of a dredging company's activities. But even so “partner in maritime infrastructure construction” would now be

a better name. Or “marine construction specialist”. But that name does not really cover the recent activities in oil

and gas related offshore projects that are increasingly important.

For a better name, let’s look at some of the activities of the modern dredging company – or rather, the modern

maritime infrastructure company: Winning millions of cubic metres of sand from incredible depths and then

transporting them in jumbo hoppers, over hundreds of kilometres to build an enormous artificial island where a

new airport will be constructed. Developing strategies for harbour expansion and the revival of surrounding

residential areas and industrial parks. Studying demographic trends in the context of hydrographic potentials.

Restoring wetlands and helping to solve problems when new sources of energy are being explored. Assisting in the

development of new software to find sand deposits on 100 metre deep seabeds and monitor underwater habitats.

When the activities of an industry evolve, the name often changes, and the people in the industry do as well.

Traditionally, dredging was for do-ers, for independent, action-oriented people. Yet today’s large land reclamation

or port expansion projects often demand years of reflective preparations. Strategic planning, meetings and

discussions. Even high-level diplomacy and an understanding of international treaties. Add to that environmental

assessments, hydrographic studies, and thorough site investigations. Today’s dredging is part of a knowledge- and

information-driven world. It is about sustainable development and ecological and economic feasibility. No wonder

that at least half of the employees of IADC member companies have degrees in higher education -- in engineering,

geotechnical and environmental studies, in law, navigation and accountancy.

Essential to the industry is self-renewal and key to that is investing in research and development. R&D leads to

innovation: larger trailers, longer drag-arms, high-performance pumps, three-dimensional imaging, higher energy

efficiency of ships and dredging equipment, stronger geotextiles, and environmentally friendly cutter heads.

Together these innovations lead to more efficient, cost-effective production methods, as well as to a safer

workplace. Equally essential of course is investing in people: a highly educated and well-trained staff, be it on

board a vessel or back at headquarters is of the utmost importance to the success of every project.

This jubilee issue of Terra et Aqua presents a selection of infrastructure projects of the last forty years in which

IADC members played a crucial role. Instead of showing how maritime infrastructure construction is done, as is

often the case in Terra, this special edition presents the results of the work of IADC members, and the why behind

each of the projects, in other words, their “drivers”. For chapter 1, for instance, that is “World Trade”, and for

chapter 2, “Coastal Defense”. Other drivers are “Urban and Industrial Development”, “Energy”, “Ecology”,

and “Tourism”. The photographs that follow are a testimony to forty years of intensive infrastructure construction.

They show the projects that have changed the way we live, the way we work, the way we play. They show how

the dredging and maritime construction industry has helped to change the world.

Foreword 5


The Hong Kong container terminal 8 under

construction.

WORLD-CLASS PORTS FOR GROWINGWORLDWIDE TRADE“That container ships were getting larger,that we knew. That as a result we wouldhave to deepen our port, that we knew aswell. And we did that. But that the verynext day after we finished dredging, one ofthese huge 8000 TEU vessels would arriveat our port, that came as a real surprise. Of course we are aware of the rapiddevelopments at the Asian side of thePacific Rim. But we are still not completelyprepared for the accelerated speed of thechanges. In trade volume, in the size of theships, in the number of ships”. These werethe comments of the director of a majorport authority in June 2005.

Call it globalisation, call it outsourcing, thefact is that China and India, the Far East ingeneral, are going through an economicand trade growth spurt that finds the restof the world not quite prepared for theconsequences – despite reports from thefinancial newspapers and magazines.

The Far East is now, in 2005, the engine ofgrowth for the whole world. China todayhas seven ports that can handle a freightvolume per year of over 100 million tonnesof cargo. The ports in Europe and the U.S.that receive this Asian export rush have togear up to meet the challenges, to mirrorthe new modern mega-ports in Asia.

At all sides of the oceans, more trademeans a need for extended port andharbour facilities, for improved waterbornetransportation. Dredging activities andmaritime infrastructure development arefundamental to these expansions and aretherefore driven by the acceleration inworld trade. But is this the whole picture?Which came first, the chicken or the egg?Is trade driving port development or is portexpansion driving trade?

Trade is only possible if the cost of trans-porting goods to market is kept inexpensive

enough so that imported goods remaincompetitive with local goods. Right now,for most goods, waterborne transportationis more economical, cleaner and more cost-effective than other means of transport,overland or by air. The three main factors inthe cost of waterborne transportation are:the sailing distance, the size and speed ofthe ship, and the capacity and efficiency ofdeparture and arrival ports. So, theconstruction of state-of-the art maritimeinfrastructure helps propel world trade bykeeping the costs of seaborne transporta-tion low. QED: Port development andwaterway maintenance are as much driversof world trade as the other way around.

Recently the Italian Minister of Transportannounced a plan called “Motorways ofthe Sea”. It is part of an overall European

Land surveying and sand suppletion at the Hong Kong container terminal site.

World-class ports for growing worldwide trade 7

strategy to get transport traffic off theroads and onto the waterways. With almost6500 km of coastline, Italy is perfectlysituated to replace some of its long-haultrucks clogging up the roads, and pollutingthe air, and get the cargo on board shipsinstead. The plan foresees the dredging ofa number of ports and inland waterways.This is how dredging, while makingtransport by water more cost-effective andpromoting trade, also contributes tocreating a cleaner environment.

This chapter highlights the most importantmaritime infrastructure projects of the lastforty years executed by IADC members, driven by the growth of world trade. Brand new and expanded ports. Improvedexisting harbours. Both capital andmaintenance projects. They are all there,driven by world trade, and driving worldtrade at the same time.

The Port of the 1990s: Kwai Chung,Hong Kong

After the go-ahead in 1966 from the HongKong Government to construct a containerterminal at Kwai Chung, both Hong KongInternational Terminals (HIT) and ModernTerminals (MIT) were established. The development of the Port of Hong Kongis closely related to these two containerterminal operators. With the completion ofthe first terminal in 1969 the growth of theport has been the highest in the world.

At present Hong Kong is the largestcontainer port. Rapidly following the firstterminal in 1969 were: in 1974 dredgingand reclamation for Terminal CT 4, Terminal CT 6 in 1986, Terminal CT 7 in1990, Terminal CT 8 in 1993 and the lastone, Terminal CT 9 in 2002. The totalberth-length at HIT’s terminals exceeds4300 m. After only 30 years of operationHIT’s annual turnover exceeded 6 millionTEU’s. From 1969 to 2004 they handled 80 million TEU’s.

8

Ports of India are expanding

Given the extensive coastline of India, the great number of maritime infrastructureprojects, both capital and maintenance,should be no surprise. Mumbai on thenorthwestern coast of India is a primeexample. On the eastern side of theMumbai Estuary a green field containerterminal, the first terminal to be privatised,was built in the late 1980s at Nhava Shevato relieve the congested docks on thewestern side. Some 6.5 million-m3 softmaterial and 500,000-m3 hard basalt-rockwere dredged, employing one of the mostpowerful cutter suction dredgers at thetime. Mumbai Harbour requires regularmaintenance, and water injection dredgingis an efficient and cost-effective method.Such an operation is shown near theGateway to India.

The new Mangalore Port is an artificiallagoon harbour located south of Mumbaion the west coast of India. In its thirdphase Mangalore was improved to cater tothe grass-roots refinery being establishednear the city of Mangalore. Capitaldredging, started in February 1995,

included rock dredging utilising underwaterdrilling and blasting to deepen the existingport.

In 1999 at the port of Tuticorin, south ofMangalore, on the western tip of theIndian continent, significant dredging workwas executed. With its natural harbourTuticorin has been a centre for maritimetrade and pearl fishery for more than acentury. But to keep up with modernmaritime transit needs, deepening theentire port was imperative.

Water-injection dredging in front of the Gateway to India.

A floating drill pontoon was used to conduct accurate

underwater jet probings at Mangalore.

The Gateway to India, looking out to the harbour.

Dredging vessels at Tuticorin.


Thailand’s ports keep pace

Two major port construction projects wereconducted in the late 1980s, first at LaemChabang and later at Map Ta Phut.Beginning in 1961 the Royal Thai Governmentwas considering the construction of a newdeep seaport which could accommodatelarger container ships and bulk carriers toreplace Bangkok’s Klongtoey Port whichwas too shallow. Studies recommendedLaem Chabang as a suitable location, withroom for later expansion. In February 1988work commenced at Laem Chabang. Thisincluded dredging an approach channeland basin, land reclamation, construction of a rubble-mound breakwater, and slopeprotection, utilising a state-of-the-art cuttersuction dredger.

After completion of the dredging works atLaem Chabang, the cutter suction dredgermoved to Map Ta Phut where fromSeptember 1989 to January 1992 work ona new deep seaport began. Map Ta Phutis presently the largest industrial port inThailand.

The port of Map Ta Phut.

The port of Laem Chabang.


The transformation of TanjungPelepas (PTP), Malaysia

In just five years, the Port of TanjungPelepas (PTP), the newest addition to theport complexes in Johor, has become thelargest port in Malaysia, providing amplecompetition to its rival to the south,Singapore. The port is located at theconfluence of major shipping routes at thesouthern tip of Malaysia and is on track fora five phase development over a 25 yearperiod up to 2020.

The first phase of this new port at a greenfield site in Johor State was completed in1998, with 2800 m of waterfront.Dredging and reclamation for the secondphase, which will add another 2800 m of

Millions of metres of vertical (wick) drains were installed

to consolidate the wharf bund and reclamation areas at

Tanjung Pelepas.

The container terminal at Tanjung Pelepas under construction.

wharf, were completed in 2003, allowing thegradual construction of additional containerberths, terminals and industrial buildings.Both phases have required mobilising largefleets of trailing suction hopper dredgers. Inthe second phase more than 40 million m3

of mud and clay were removed and some35 million m3 of sand were used forreclamation. Major soil improvement worksto stabilise the wharf bund and terminalarea required some 40 million m of verticaldrains to be installed.

PTP has clearly established itself as animportant transshipment hub in the region.The excellent port facilities have attractedmain world-renowned shipping lines. It isprojected to reach the one-million-TEUmark for the first time in August 2005.

11

Australia mining harbour, Port Hedland

Situated in the rugged, remote PibaraRegion on the northwest coast of WesternAustralia, 1600 km north of Perth, the smallmining settlement of Port Hedland hasbecome one of the largest mineral ports in the world. The valuable deposits of ironore found in the region have fuelled thisincredible growth: the port transfersmillions of tonnes of iron ore all over theworld. To meet these demands, a portextension programme to increase exportcapacity was initiated in September 2002.The maritime operations compriseddredging the existing berth pocket from–17 m to –19 m, extending this berthpocket, and dredging a new berth pocketand departure area. It required cuttingthrough tough limestone. Work wasconducted around the clock, duringtyphoon season, in temperatures reaching45 degree Celsius.

A cutter suction dredger cuts through limestone in the harbour of Port Hedland, Australia.

A crane pontoon placing concrete

units on the harbour entrance dam

at the Port of Pusan, Korea.

Overview of the new Korean Pusan port under construction.

Deeper is better at Korean Port Pusan

Situated in southeastern South Korea, on theKorea Strait, Pusan, the nation’s secondlargest city and largest port, handles mostof South Korea’s foreign trade. Lying at thehead of the Naktong River basin, it hasserved as a main southern gateway toKorea from Japan, which helped to developPusan’s excellent natural harbour. The city isalso the southern terminus of the mainrailroad line from Seoul. As a leadingindustrial and commercial centre, in 2001Pusan port started an intensive programmefor port development including deepeningthe channel and reclamation for a containerterminal where sand had to be hauled fromborrow areas 100 m deep.

Rehabilitating and expanding European ports

Western European ports like Felixstowe, Dover, Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp havedeveloped over hundreds of years. Port extensions necessary to accommodate growingbusiness were most of the time located outside the city centres where the original old portswere situated. The shipping channel wharfage requirements changed over time. Ports andaccess channels had to be deeper and wider. Container terminals could not be built close tothe populated areas. Logistics, inland transport, transshipment methods were modernised.General cargo handled at the quayside became too costly compared with the fast andeconomical way of containerisation. Port areas have been expanded, developed andredesigned for ever larger modern cargo ships. Channels and basins were cleaned and filledto form larger areas for more efficient port operations. The modern European ports todayare mammoth businesses, with their own Authorities, that operate and maintain all harbourfacilities – including dredging and maritime infrastructure construction.

The UK’s largest port

The port of Felixstowe is the largest deep-water container port in the UnitedKingdom and one of the largest in Europe.Felixstowe reclamation took place in the1980s and facilities were deepened again inthe 1990s. Additional improvements areplanned for the near future.

In the 1990s facilities at Felixstowe were deepened to accommodate large container vessels.

The Port of Felixstowe reclamation

at Bathside Bay in the 1980s.

Between 1967 and 1970 a large work

was carried out at Dunkirk, France to

extend the maritime basin

nr 2 to 3 km in length for ships of

100,000 tonnes.


Le Havre Port 2000, France

Nowadays the largest containerised shipsthat handle the intercontinental commercialexchanges have become so big that theyhave a limited number of ports of call inEurope. The Port of Le Havre is the onlyFrench port able to play an internationalrole in Europe that competes with the main Northern European ports. Situated atthe mouth of the Seine, Le Havre is France’slargest port facility and the fifth largestcontainer port in Europe. Port 2000 is anextension to Le Havre port’s facilities forcontainer traffic – there are presently 14 quays. Work going on now is intended

to increase capacity for the sustained growthof external trade, increasing jobs anddoubling container trade through the portby 2010. The design fosters the use of themost competitive and least polluting meansof connection. Infrastructure improvementsplanned for execution between 2000 and2005 are the construction of a newcontainer terminal in the outer Port of LeHavre (12 quays planned for outside thelocks), the dredging of the access channel(10 km) and turning basin. Two gravelbeaches and breakwaters on the North,West and South to protect the newharbour against waves and currents havebeen constructed.

Jetty-head caissons being filled at Port 2000 Le Havre.

Aerial view of Port 2000 construction works at Le Havre.


Rotterdam, the Netherlands,the largest port of Europe

Every year some 30,000 sea-going shipsand 110,000 barges call at the Port ofRotterdam. With its ultra-modern VesselTraffic System (VTS), it can track ships onthe radar screen up to 60 km off the coastand 40 km inland. This is one of theadvanced systems that keeps Rotterdamcompetitive in the maritime world. In the1950s Rotterdam expanded its harbourwith the addition of Europoort. By 1960the first oil tanker was moored there.Shortly thereafter the Petroleumhaven,Beneluxhaven and Dintelhaven were added.The Calandkanaal gave Europoort its ownconnection to the sea. In 1962, with a cargohandling volume of 96 million tonnes,Rotterdam superseded New York as theworld’s biggest port. By 1965 the need formore expansion was clear and theMaasvlakte, reclaimed from the sea, wasbuilt, tripling the size of the port andindustrial area. The first container ship arrived in Rotterdamon May 5 1966. The container revolutionhad begun and it led to the establishmentof ECT, the Europe Container Terminus.Tonnage increased rapidly and in 1978 the1 million milestone was achieved. By 19862 million containers had passed through thePort of Rotterdam. By 2000, this figure hadincreased to 6.5 million TEU. Most of theseare handled on the Maasvlakte at the ECTDelta Terminals. The projections for 2020are an increase of throughput up to 40%.

Overview of the harbour of Rotterdam looking at the entrance to the Maas Harbour at Rotterdam.

Construction of the ECT container terminal in 1990.

A cutter suction dredger at work for the expansion of the Amazon Harbour, part of Rotterdam, in 1997.

Hamburg and Bremerhaven,Germany’s premier ports

The Port of Hamburg is Germany’s largestseaport and Europe’s second-biggestcontainer port. It is situated at the upperend of the estuary of the River Elbe and itshistory goes back more than 800 years. The port has been dredged for hundreds ofyears so as to maintain water depths forthe passage of ships. The port is situated inland on the River Elbesome 100 km from the North Sea. The tidalcurrent has a strong influence on thisregion. Continual intervention in the riverhas been necessary to make ship trafficpossible and to maintain an adequatefairway depth.The need for dredging measures has been aconsequence of the natural sedimentationand the increasingly shallower depths itproduced. Nowadays, roughly 3 to 4 million m3 of Elbe sediments are dredgedyear in and year out.

The northern German Port of Bremerhaven,located on the River Weser, has taken noteof the increases in container traffic and is inthe midst of a capital investment project tokeep up with future demands. At itscurrent rate of growth, Bremerhaven willreach its maximum container handling in2006 – a good reason to be implementinga new expansion plan. Part of the plan willbe ready for use in November 2006. By 2008 Bremerhaven will have the longestquay wall on a riverbank in the world.

Other European ports are also expanding to meet

the demands of world trade. At Vuosaari Harbour,

Finland between August and November 2004 sand

and gravel were dredged from a distant borrow area

and transported over 15 km through the future

access channel to the new container port.

Aerial view of Hamburg with intensive work for the extension of the port going on.

Dredging activities at the northern port of Bremerhaven.

Belgium ports remain competitive

The Deurganckdock, officially opened inJuly 2005, is the largest tidal dock in theworld, with over 5 km of docking area. The dock has doubled the container transitcapacity of Antwerp’s Waasland Harbourwith 6 million TEU, making Antwerp aserious competitor of Rotterdam. The Waasland Harbour, built on the leftbank of the River Scheldt, has its mainaccess through the Kallo Lock. The America and Albert Docks are partof Antwerp’s original port area; recentlyboth docks were thoroughly renovated.

From 1977 to 1989 a huge maritimeextension project was realised in the Port of Zeebrugge: the development of a totally new outer and inner harbour. Today Zeebrugge is the major harbour inthe Belgian Coastal Area. As do manyharbours, Zeebrugge suffers from intensesedimentation by fluid mud entering theharbour during high tide. Annually morethan 5 million tonne dry material has to beevacuated, by trailing suction hopperdredgers, to maintain the navigationaldepth up to 13.5 m.

Ostend (Oostende), some 35 kilometressouthwest of Zeebrugge, became importantas a harbour in 1722 when shipping overthe River Scheldt to and from Antwerp wasblocked. Ostend became a transit harbour toEngland in 1846 when the first (legendary)ferryboat sailed to Dover. Today Ostend,facing the English harbours of Folkestone,Ramsgate and Dover, is still Belgium’slargest passenger and car-ferry port.

Deurganckdok, the new dock at Antwerp’s container harbour officially opened in July 2005.

View of Waasland harbour in the port of Antwerp, created in several stages

since the early 1970s.

The America and Albert Docks, part of Antwerp’s original harbour.


Zeebrugge fights sedimentation and remains one of

Belgium’s major harbours.

Ostend, facing England,

is Belgium’s largest passenger

and car-ferry port.

18

Extending the Southern Basin of thePort of Valencia, Spain

Valencia, on the Mediterranean Sea, facingEast, is Spain’s commercial port that isnearest to the Suez-Gibraltar axis, the mainshipping route connecting Western Europeand Asia. The growth in trade and shippingcreated the necessity to extend the port’sSouthern Basin. It involved the constructionof a 3900 m-long breakwater, shelteringthe berths and helping to maintain a depthof 16 m. The project was carried out from1993 to 1996.

Overview of City and

Port of Valencia, with the project

almost completed.

View of the Port of Valencia,

in an early stage of the project.

View of the Port of Valencia,

in a later stage of the project.


Spain’s Seville-Bonanza Canal

Located in southern Spain, SSeevviillllee is situatedon the banks of the Guadalquiver River, 90 km from its mouth. The Guadalquiver isone of Spain’s very few navigable riversmaking it an unusually important inlandwater route. From 1969 to 1976 the riverwas deepened, the new Guadaira riverchannel was created, and the docks werelengthened by 2000 m. Besides improvingthe safety of shipping to and from Sevilleand enhancing the port facilities, theproject also prevented flooding of Seville.

The point where river and

canal come together,

and the port improvements.

A new deep seaport for Tarragona,Spain

On the Mediterranean Sea, halfwaybetween Valencia and Gibraltar, Tarragonais a transshipment port and plays a majorrole in the economy of the Spanishhinterland. Increased trade created a need

for more quays and a deepening of theport, to 16.5 m. The sediments were usedfor land reclamation purposes, land wherein the second phase of the project the newport was built. The entire project, started inSeptember 2000, was completed in 2001.Tarragona now has another deep seaportaccessible to large ocean-going vessels.

The seaport of Tarragona.


Suez Canal and Port Said and Al Sukhna, Egypt

The Suez Canal, which opened in 1869, is the main marine corridor betweenEurope and Asia, linking the Mediterraneanto the Red Sea across 167 km of Egyptiandesert. From the beginning it helpedincrease the flow of world trade. Today it isessential for the petroleum tankers headingto and from Europe. Major canal

improvement works started around 1961(the Ballah Bypass) and again from 1976 to1980 with the Suez Canal ExpansionProject. An enormous dredging fleetincluding 18 hydraulic dredgers wereengaged to widen and deepen the canal.From 1992 to 1994 the depth of thesouthern part of the canal was increased to–25 m to accommodate larger vessels. Major container hub-ports have beenestablished at both ends of the canal.

From 1999 to 2002 at Port Said, theMediterranean entrance to the canal, a new port was constructed. At about thesame time, the Al Sukhna Port wasconstructed on the Egyptian Red Sea Coast.This was a design-and-build contract for anentire port destined to serve the Cairo region.Al Sukhna Port has been designed chiefly torelieve the Suez Canal by offering shippingfrom Asia an alternative to Cairo andeliminating the need to transit the Canal.

Widening and deepening of the Suez Canal in the 1970s.

Piles of used cutter-teeth are

an indication of the extreme

rock layers at the Suez.


Nowadays, container ships

traverse the Canal, while

the dredging continues.

Dredging goes on day and night. The Suez in 1977.

Dredging at Port Al Sukhna

at the southern end of the

Suez Canal.


Port construction in the Emirates

In 1968 construction started for a new portat Mina Zayed, in Abu Dhabi, UnitedArab Emirates. A year after becomingindependent in 1971 the first majorharbour project was completed. Before thisconstruction, cargo ships had to dock some8 km away from the coast and unloadshipments onto barges and small dhows – the long, flat traditional sailing vessels ofthe Middle East – to transport the cargo toshore. Presently the port has 21 berths forall types of commercial trans-ocean ships.The ports of Jebel Ali and Port Rashidare the main ports of Dubai. The originaldredging for this prestigious man-madeport was done from 1976-1982. The basinand inner harbour were dredged withcutters; the 17 km approach channel by theself-elevating offshore dredger Al Wasl Bay,the first of its kind in the world speciallybuilt for this purpose. Today Jebel Ali is thelargest port of the UAE with 82 berths anda throughput of 6.4 m TEU containers.Initially constructed in the 1970s, Jebel Alihas been extended regularly, most recentlyfrom 2002-2004.

Deira Burj deepening the Jebel Ali entrance channel.

The self-elevating offshore dredger Al Wasl Bay, the first of its kind in the world was especially built to

dredge the approach channel at Jebel Ali.

Gateway to East Africa

Djibouti, the port city of the eastern Africancountry of the same name, is located onthe Gulf of Aden, facing toward the RedSea and the Arabian Peninsula. The city isan important regional supply centre for theexport trade in petroleum, and is the mainexport route for Ethiopian coffee. Althoughon the African coast, its importance as aharbour is dependent on its strategicposition to the shipping lanes that carry theSuez Canal traffic.

Dredging the Port of Djibouti in 1986.

23

Cutter suction dredger

widening and deepening the

Jebel Ali entrance channel.

Aerial view of the extension

of Port Rashid.

The four port cities of Saudi Arabia

After the oil crisis of 1973 a constructionboom started in Saudi Arabia. The boomlasted for more than ten years. The RoyalCommission for Jubail and Yanbu was tooversee the development of the city ofYanbu on the Red Sea coast and of Jubail onthe Arabian Gulf. Major petrochemical andrelated industries were built. But also newmodern cities and ports. Initially the portsserved to relieve the smaller existing ports,which were totally congested as a result ofthe import of construction materials andequipment.

Yanbu’s King Fahad Industrial Port isnow the largest oil and petrochemicalexporting complex on the Red Sea.Completed in 1982 it has 7 terminals with25 berths.Jeddah Islamic Port, also on the Red Sea,is the main port for imports into Saudi Arabia. Jubail King Fahad Industrial Port is thelargest port of Saudi Arabia, exportingmainly petrochemicals.Damman, King Abdul Aziz Port, close toJubail on the Arabian Gulf, serves as maincommercial port for the Eastern andCentral Provinces. The ports in these fourcities handled a total of 120 million tonnesof cargo in 2004.

An overview of Jubail with the petroleum harbour seen by night.

Dammam port extension included dredging of the approach channel and harbour and reclamation of industrial areas

as well as the construction of a breakwater.

A view of the construction

of the port of Jubail.

24

Jubail Commercial Port was one of thebiggest construction projects in theKingdom of Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s,requiring the input of major dredging plantof nearly all members of IADC. The portarea is 50 km2 and the breakwaters have atotal length of 10 km. The total dredgingvolume was over 40 million m3.


From fishing village to port: BandarAbbas, Iran

From 1976 to 1979 some 11 million m3 ofsand, silt and clay were dredged to preparea huge site for one of the first port-industrial areas in Southern Iran at BandarAbbas. The new port is strategicallylocated at the Strait of Hormuz, close tothe Island of Qeshm. At the start of theproject Bandar Abbas was only a fishingvillage. Nowadays it is one of the largestports of Iran.

Construction of

the new port at

Bandar Abbas.

Reaching Africa through Dar esSalaam, Tanzania

The principle port of Tanzania, Dar esSalaam, is a major sea outlet for manyAfrican nations including Zambia, Burundi,Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and eastern parts of the Congo. The construction of the eight Deep WaterBerths (berths 4 to 11) was the first majormarine project in Tanzania after becomingindependent in 1963. The project wasstarted in 1969 and completed by 1975.The capacity of the port increasedthreefold.

The extension of

the berths 4-11 at

Dar es Salaam Harbour.


Maintenance dredging on the PacificCoast of Mexico

The western Pacific coast of Mexico is richin harbours such as Ensenada, Guyamas,Mazatlan, Manzanillo, Salina Cruz, PuertoMadero and Lazaro Cardenas, all of whichare in need of regular maintenancedredging. Lazaro Cardenas TerminalPortuaria de Contenedores (LCT) is a highlyindustrial deepwater port. The terminal is

Reaching the grain harbours ofArgentina

Argentina’s principal water connections forthe shipment of grain, the Rio de la Plata(River Plate) and Rio Parana, cover a distanceof almost 700 km linking the upriverharbours to Buenos Aires and the ocean.They are also connected to the Rio Uruguaythrough two access channels, the CanalMitre and the Martin Garcia Channel.The economic importance of these water-ways to Argentina, Uruguay, as well asParaguay, Brazil and Chile and Bolivia isenormous. In the 1990s major investments were made to improve these waterways toaccommodate PANAMAX and Cape SizeVessels. According to the project plan(1995-2013), the work on the Rio de laPlata from the ocean going 205 kmupstream through the Canal E. Mitre andthen up the 584 km of the Rio Parana willmean dredging 60 million m3. The totallength of the Martin Garcia Channel is 106 km of which 76 km is being dredged.This means 40 million m3 in capital andmaintenance dredging during the first twoyears, with the projected quantities for 8 years estimated at 3 million m3 annually.

significantly closer to Mexico City thanManzanillo, the only other Mexican Pacificport serving this important market. LCT is asingle-berth terminal with on-dock railfacilities and the development rights to an85-hectare deepwater, green field site. FromJune 1980 to December 1983, the LCT wasimproved by dredging for the extension of the harbour and for reclamation of industrialareas and a Naval Zone. Maintenancedredging was done from 1994-1996.

Straightening and deepening go on together with shipping traffic on the Rio de la Plata.

The industrial deepwater

port of Lazaro Cardenas.


Modernisation of the Panama Canal

The first complete Panama Canal passageby a self-propelled, ocean-going vessel tookplace on January 7, 1914. Since then the80 km long Canal, which crosses theIsthmus of Panama and connects theAtlantic and Pacific oceans, has seenhundreds of thousands of ships. It has beenexpanded, deepened and widened manytimes. When in 1999 the Panama Canalwas handed over to the Government ofPanama, a new episode for this famouscanal began. Panama Ports Company (PPC)now operates the ports of Cristobal andBalboa located at each end of the PanamaCanal. PPC is committed to transformingthese two ports into major hubs. Part ofmodernising this infrastructure was thecapital dredging for deepening andwidening the entrance channels on boththe Pacific and Atlantic entrances to theCanal done during 2004 and 2005.

Multimodal container terminal atCaucedo, Dominican Republic

The recently built multimodal containerterminal in Caucedo on the south coast ofthe Dominican Republic, not far from thecapital city of Santo Domingo, is a newaddition to handle the overflow from portHaina. Dredging for this new port

From its inception, the Panama Canal has

helped expedite world trade by shortening

the travel time for shipping traffic between the

Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

construction was especially sensitive, with great care for the coral reefs nearby. A sophisticated monitoring system wasestablished which measures turbidity on a 24/7 basis. The opening of thiscontainer transshipment terminal in 2004 gave a tremendous boost to theDominican economy and employment in the area.

Caucedo, container transshipment

terminal for the Caribbean.

Working at the entrance channel to the Panama Canal.

The Delta Plan: “closing the gate” is always a

suspenseful moment, because of the strength

of the currents.

PROTECTING 3 BILLION PEOPLE LIVINGNEAR COASTS AND RIVERS


Populations have always been attracted tothe coastline, to live and work close towater. According to the United Nations,some 3 billion people, or almost half theworld’s population, currently live alongthousands of kilometres of coastal zones.Expectations are that this number willdouble in the next half century. In additionmore than 80 countries enjoy deltacultures, where large populations aresettled at the mouth and along rivers livingon fertile, though vulnerable, landmasses.The protection of these delta cultures – be they along the Niger, the Mississippi,the Rhine, the Mekong, or the Meuse – has created a need for dredging activitiesfor hundreds of years and never more sothan right now.

The modern era of coastal protection wasprobably triggered by the events of thenight of January 31 to February 1, 1953.That night, high winds combined with high

tides created a storm surge that rippedacross the southern part of the North Sea.It hit the coasts of the Netherlands, the UK,France, Belgium, Germany and Denmark.The coastal sea defences were completelyoverwhelmed. And each of the affectedcountries responded with a burst ofresearch and investments in sea defence.The Netherlands developed the DeltaWorks, which completely reshaped thesouthwestern part of the country. In the UK,the Thames Flood Barrier programme wasstarted to secure central London againstfuture storm surges. Belgium introducedthe Sigma Plan in the 1970s; France andDenmark also took similar coastal defencemeasures. In all cases, the innovativethinking and R&D of the maritimeconstruction industry played a major role.

Nowadays the demand for creative solutionsin coastal areas and along rivers is as urgentas ever. Add the threat of rising waters

from global warming to the shortage ofspace in these desirable densely populatedwaterfront areas, and the need forincreased and improved protection is clear.And yet despite the changes in sea levelsand in rainfall distribution, people continueto flock to the coasts and rivers.

Take the coastal and river areas ofArgentina, of Indonesia and Malaysia, andof Europe, areas where wetlands and waterculture are woven into the people’s livesand livelihoods. Take the Pearl River Deltawhich has been one of the mosteconomically dynamic regions of China. It isthe fastest growing portion of the fastestgrowing province in the fastest growinglarge economy in the world. Or Bangladesh

Protecting 3 billion people living near coasts and rivers 29

The Incredible Eastern Scheldt StormSurge Barrier

The Delta Plan, which protects the low-lyinglands in the southwestern part of theNetherlands, was conceived after thecatastrophic floods of February 1953. The closing of the Eastern ScheldtEstuary was planned as the final project of the Delta Plan to bring safety to thesurrounding land areas. Originally, theEastern Scheldt would be a regular closeddam. In fact, in 1967, three artificial islandswhich would be used to erect the dam hadalready been raised in the mouth of theriver. The 1960s were the years of growingenvironmental awareness. The Dutch,people as well as politicians, started

realising that only working with nature, and not against it, could ensure real safety.In 1975 the Dutch government proposedbuilding an open barrier, instead of asimple closed dam, which could be closedduring an emergency but would normallybe opened, preserving the ecology of thearea. It took till 1979 for Parliament to votein favour of this project, and the cost at thetime seemed enormous. In the last 25 yearsthe Eastern Scheldt Dam has becomequite an important tourist attraction, forvisitors from all over the world. That makessense, after all, the open barrier is one ofthe most impressive and beautiful maritimeinfrastructure feats ever conceived. And thecountry has remained protected.

where more than seven hundred riversmeander through the country, some ofthem like the Jamuna, dividing the countryand its citizens from each other. Or the 15 million Vietnamese along the MekongDelta who live and travel on the river,canals and irrigation channels. Thesepopulations are dependent on the rivers forfood and water, and on the temperamentof the monsoons. These great river systemsare on one hand the country’s principalresource and on the other its greatesthazard. The environmental awareness that beganfull force in the 1970s has positivelyinfluenced floodway improvements, leveeconstruction, clean water management,and wetlands preservation. The projectsshown here demonstrate the innovativesolutions of the dredging and maritimeconstruction industry to protect peopleliving along waterways – along the rivers,deltas, and coastlines of the world.

A halfway phase in erecting the storm surge barrier.

The barrier is ready, the people behind it are protected.


A new bay at Cardiff in Wales

The Cardiff Bay Barrage is one of thelargest investment and engineering projectsto have taken place in the United Kingdom.Completed in 1999 and measuring 1.1 kmin length, the barrage impounds two of themain rivers in South Wales, the Taff and theEly, to create a 2 km2 freshwater inland bay,Cardiff Bay, and a new permanent water-front of some 12.8 km. The barrage servesnot only as a flood defence, but also hashelped regenerate the docklands of theBristol Channel, offering sailors a protectedenvironment.

Work in progress at Cardiff Bay.

The completed Barrage

at Cardiff Bay literally

provides a safe haven.

Maeslant Barrier protects Rotterdamand surroundings

As a mirror image to the storm surge barrierin the River Thames protecting Londonagainst flooding, Rotterdam is now alsoprotected against storm surges andextremely high tides, by the MaeslantBarrier. The barrier is constructed in theNew Waterway, the deep canal thatconnects Rotterdam to the North Sea. The barrier consists of two floating gatesthat can be swung into position on hingesand then water-ballasted to seal them intoposition on a sill. Just like its Londoncounterpart, the Maeslant Barrier, is part of a network of barriers, amongst them the Hollandsche IJssel Barrier and the Hartel Canal Barrier.

The Thames Barrier, flood defence forLondon

Some forty years ago, it was determinedthat improved flood protection for the tidalpart of the Thames was absolutelynecessary. Raising the banks of the river inconjunction with a flood barrierincorporating moveable gates built acrossthe river, was seen as the best solution.Construction of the Barrier started in late1974. It became operational in October1982 and it was first used in February1983. The Thames Barrier is part of alarger system of moveable gates, includingBarking Barrier, the gates at old RoyalDocks, and Dartford Creek and FobbingHorse Barrier. The Thames River Barrier with its moveable gates for flood control.

An aerial view of the early stages in the

construction of the Maeslant Barrier.

With its two floating gates Maeslant Barrier

helps protect Rotterdam from storm surges.

(Aeroview)


Replenishing the coastlines of Europe

Maintaining natural defences against floods is a continuous priority in the low coastal areas of Western Europe. Dunes are a natural defence.The lowlands behind these dunes, especially polders, are risk-exposed areas, which are used increasingly by the population in the coastalregions. At many locations, from the French Atlantic Coast via the North Sea coasts of England, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany to the shores of the Baltic Sea, beach nourishment projects are executed at regular intervals. An added advantage is that the widened beach,apart from protection, offers additional attractive space for vacationers and gives a boost to the local tourism industry.

The forces that shaped Sylt

The western edge of the German islandSylt is subject to the remorseless poundingof the North Sea, which leads to erosion ofthe west coast. The eroded material ispartially re-deposited, by winds andcurrents, at the northern and southernextremities of the island, giving it its long,stretched-out shape. But a substantial part,almost 2 million m3, is lost every year to thesea. After careful studies, a decision wasreached that beach replenishment, withsand from the seabed from at least 14 m deepand some 8 km offshore, was the simplestand safest way to fight this erosion.

Sand lost by erosion is restored to the

beaches of Germany’s Sylt island.

Eierland Dam helps keep sand in place

The coast of Eierland, in the northwesterncorner of the Dutch Isle of Texel, has beendeclining for over a century. A yearly loss ofa million m3 of sand was recorded. Since1979 this has been compensated by sandreplenishment of more than 10 million m3.The newly constructed (1996-1997)

Eierland Dam, 800 m long, helps keep thereplenished sand in place. The dam wasbuilt under a strict quality guarantee, a firstfor a project of this type. Regular replenish-ment of sand to the coastline takes placeup and down the North Sea coast of theNetherlands from Texel in the north toScheveningen in the middle, and Vlissingenin the southern province of Zeeland.

Scheveningen’s harbour, as well as

beach and sea needs constant

protection against the battering of

the waves.

The 800 m long Eierland Dam on the Dutch island of Texel helps keep the replenished sand in place.

33

Protecting the coastline of the UK

As an island nation the United Kingdom is long used to being attacked by the sea.From Hythe to Folkestone Harbour is adense urban area, important for fishing andpopular with tourists. The concrete seawallsthat now protect this frontage wereoriginally constructed in the 1930s and areshowing wear and tear. The recentlycompleted Hythe to Folkestone HarbourCoast Protection Scheme, including beachreplenishment, will reduce the risk ofseawall failure and coastal flooding.The lowlying East Anglian coastline is alsosubject to intense erosion. To protect thecoastline, and a portion of the hinterlandfrom flooding, the Happisburgh toWinterton Flood Defense Scheme usingoffshore rock reefs has been successfullyimplemented.

Replenishment of the beach at Vlissingen (Flushing), in the southern part of the Netherlands.

Hythe to Folkestone Coastal Protection Scheme.

Rock reefs at the Happisburgh to

Winterton Flood Defense Scheme.

34

Saldanha Bay, South Africa: wavesover 12 m high

South Africa’s largest natural anchorageand deepest port, Saldanha Bay is strate-gically located on the Atlantic coast, some150 km north of Cape Town. The bay is anideal place for the transshipment of hugequantities of iron ore, arriving by an 860 kmlong railway from the Sishen-Orex mines.Before the first shipment of ore was loadedin 1976, the port facilities had to beprotected from the attacks of the Atlantic’sswell and waves over 12 m high.Construction of the loading jetty wasvirtually impossible without the closure of a huge spending beach. This 1800-m-longdam had to be made of sand betweenMarcus Island and Hoedjes Point. Throughthe forces of nature any sand placed in thedam’s profile one day disappeared overnight.Only the combined energy of four privateinternational dredging contractors withextra equipment was able to produce moresand than nature could remove. Afterplacing some 20 million m3 of sand, thegap was finally closed. During this struggle,many seals continuously surrounded thefleet. At fixed times blasting was carriedout to remove rock pinnacles. Somehow anhour before the blast the seals alwaysdisappeared, returning an hour later toenjoy the leftovers from the Saldanha fishcanning industry.

More fish and no more floods inIztapa, Guatemala

Because of siltation of the Chiquimulila canal,Iztapa, a fishing village along Guatemala’sPacific coast, was often flooded. Moreover,the fishermen could no longer navigate thecanal as it had become too shallow.Deepening the canal, the first phase of theproject, brought a solution to bothproblems. The second phase of the projectconsisted of the construction of twobreakwaters at the point where the so-called“barra” or outfall channel to the PacificOcean is opened in times of flooding.These breakwaters serve to protect theshore and the banks of the channel.

Every day hundreds of penguins came to observe the progress of the works.

The dam structure of the loading facility could only be completed after the closure of the spending beach at

Saldanha Bay’s harbour entrance.

The breakwaters at Iztapa keep the canal deep enough to navigate and protect the village from flooding.


Training the Jamuna River, Bangladesh

Several rivers such as Ganges, Padma,Megna, Bramaputra and Jamuna physicallydivide Bangladesh. These rivers form anobstacle to developing the country’sinfrastructure. The 5 km long bridge overthe Jamuna, completed in the late 1990s, is an important economic and social linkbetween the underdeveloped, but gas-rich,western part of Bangladesh and the easternpart. Kilometres of river training workswere needed to ensure that the waters ofthe meandering river would flowunderneath the bridge between the twoabutments and not around them. This wasaccomplished by constructing a pair ofbanana-shaped guide bunds and a pair ofhard-point islands some 6 km upstream.Work could only be executed during thelow-water season, October to April. FromMay to September strong currents from themelting snow of the Himalayas made workimpossible. With no hard rock large enoughavailable in Bangladesh, 1.6 million tonnesof rock were transported over thousands ofkilometres, then transferred on barges tothe site, where hundreds of local people,rather than machines, carried it in theirtraditional way to the riverbanks.

For the sake of El Carnaval deBarranquilla

With almost 3 million inhabitants in itsmetropolitan area, Barranquilla is a majorindustrial city and modern port on theCaribbean coast of Colombia. It lies at themouth of the river Magdalena, some 100 kmnorth of the old city of Cartagena. The cityis most famous for its carnival, El Carnavalde Barranquilla, second only to the Carnivaldo Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In order to protectthe shores and port facilities of Barranquilla asand dam and a rock-fill dam were built andan alternate navigation channel was dredged.

Dredging at the port city

of Barranquilla.

River training works at the Jamuna river made it possible to build a bridge there.


Three breakwaters in Kerteh Bay,Malaysia

For several years the beachfront of theRantau Petronas Complex, south of Kertehon Malaysia’s east coast, suffered fromsevere erosion during the monsoon periods.Without remedial measures the site wouldpartially disappear into the sea. In 1991 astudy was undertaken to see how the futuresafety of the complex and its inhabitantscould be ensured. Data and detailed modelsof the most promising solutions werepresented. The most suitable scheme forthis situation proved to be the constructionof three offshore breakwaters, each 400 mlong, curving to become parallel to thecoast, with initial beach nourishment.

Jurong, Singapore: revetment of 17 km of new shoreline

In the mid 1990s Singapore decided tocreate a major oil and chemical platform inthe southwest corner of the country. Sevensmall existing islands were connected toform one large island: Jurong Island.Furthermore, the bordering Tuas Peninsulawas extended. In the process some 800 haof newly reclaimed land was created. To protect the sand of the new land againsterosion, some 17 km of new shoreline hadto be protected against waves and wind.The revetment involved profiling thereclaimed slopes, covering them withgeotextiles and placing two layers of rock.

The breakwaters at Kerteh Bay, Malaysia.

The revetment along the newly

constructed shoreline of Jurong Island.

Covering the embankments with geotextiles on Jurong.


Controlling monsoon damage atEnnore, India

Located 20 km north of Chennai, Ennoreis a small village on the east coast of India.Chennai, formerly Madras, is one of India’smajor harbours and a centre of economicactivity. To supply Chennai and its industrieswith sufficient power, the new NorthMadras Thermal Power Station was built.Coal supplied to this power plant originallycame through the already congested portof Chennai. From 1997-2001 the newEnnore port was built near the plant,primarily for the import of coal, but also asa multi-functional alternative to ChennaiPort. Because India’s east coast is subject tostorms and cyclones during the monsoonperiod and the littoral drift createssignificant sand transport along the coast,the new port at Ennore required theconstruction of two new breakwaters. The two breakwaters are 3.2 km (north)and 1.3 km long. The port has a harbourbasin of some 4 km2.

Securing the access channel at PulauBay, Bengkulu, Indonesia

Bengkulu, a port city on the west coast ofSumatra in Indonesia, had a problem: theaccess channel to its Pulau Bay Harboursuffered from severe siltation. In order to

adjust the water currents and the flow ofthe sediments, the existing breakwater waslengthened by 300 m and the channeldeepened to 12 m. The eroding beach atthe northeast side of the channel entrancewas nourished with almost 2 million m3

sand and gravel.

One of the protective breakwaters at Ennore Coal port, India.

The breakwater at Pulau Bay Harbour,

Bengkulu, Indonesia.

The simple question is: Are we running out ofland for people to live and work? Ask thisquestion around the world and the answerseems to be a resounding “Yes!”. The globalpopulation today is over 6 billion. Predictionsare that by the year 2030 it will rise to 8 billion.Everywhere on this finite planet Earth, thegovernments of cities and countries seem tobe in need of new land. Land for housing,recreation, and industrial purposes. Clearlythere seems to be a shortage of living space.

Certainly there are vast inland areasavailable for habitation, but more oftenthan not they are ignored. Locations closeto the water act as a magnet. That’s wherethe better jobs are to be found. Where theclimate is more moderate. The result: halfof the world’s population lives within 60 kmof a shoreline. And this population continuesto grow each year, both in an absolute aswell as in a relative sense. No wonder thateight of the ten largest cities in the world

are located along a coast. Not only does thismean a need for bigger and better ports andcoastal defences. Take the whole complex offactors together – an exploding population,people’s desire to live in urban areas andnear water, the industrial need for closenessto waterways – and you understand whythe coastal areas are so congested, deeplyin need of new reclaimed land for industryand residential use, for roads, bridges andtunnels, for work and for play.

The maritime construction of new land,including man-made islands for a multitudeof purposes, presents an unprecedentedchallenge. And the private dredging industryhas responded with heavy investments inR&D, with essential technological advancesand innovations. With ever larger and moreefficient dredging vessels. The size of thetrailing suction hopper dredgers has grownexponentially over the last three decades.From the hoppers with less than 6000 m3

capacity of the 1970s and 80s, to the so-called “jumbo” hoppers with capacity of over 15,000 m3 in the 1990s, to today’smega-hoppers topping a 35,000 m3

capacity. Thanks in part to these enormousvessels the cost price of a cubic metre ofdredged marine sand for reclamation hasdropped.

This increase in the capabilities of mega-shipsand this large-scale sand-winning hasallowed for the construction of mega-projects, significant new landscapesdesigned literally from nothing: like theareas off the coast of Singapore and HongKong, for instance, or the new residentialisland Hulhumale in the Maldives or theIJburg, north of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.These islands are created from scratch, withsand especially suited to the purpose

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF MAKINGMORE LAND FOR MORE PEOPLE

The first phase of Kansai International Airport

at various stages of development.


Meeting the challenge of making more land for more people 39

Airports on artificial islands in the water

What to do when your airport is overcrowded, when there are not enough runways, and whennoise of planes taking off and landing is bothering the neighbours? Build yourself an airporton an artificial island in the sea. With accelerating speed since the 1980s land reclamationfor new airports off the coasts of major cities has become more and more attractive.Japan did it first with Kansai airport near Osaka. Hong Kong gave up on its overcrowdedairport squeezed between highrises in downtown and now has Chek Lap Kok. And now itseems all over the world, other cities are following this exciting way of providing highquality, excellent flying services.

Kansai Airport, premier airport ofOsaka, Japan

The first phase of Kansai was begun in1986 and completed in 1991. It is built ona 400 ha artificial island 5 km off the coastand is connected by a doubledecker bridgefor trains and vehicles to the mainland.Expansion for the second phase of Kansaiis going on now with a new runway beingadded scheduled to be ready in 2007.

The second phase expansion of

Kansai International Airport.

hauled from marine borrow pits. Sprawlingurban areas also mean an increased needfor improved and expanded transportationnetworks. Larger and safer airports onartificial islands in the sea, further awayfrom where people sleep. The constructionof new bridges, interconnecting highwaysand roadways, and railway facilities forboth passengers and freight. These are partand parcel of the infrastructure develop-ment that modern society demands andthe private dredging industry provides. Likelinking islands in Scandinavia, or building abridge over the Rio Parana delta inArgentina.

The pictures in the chapter that follow bearwitness to the power, the inventiveness andthe adaptability of the private dredging andmaritime construction industry to meet theneeds of the growing world population:space for jobs, for housing, for recreation,new land raised up out of the sea.

View of the runways and bridge at the first Kansai Airport.


“Centrair”, the newest offshoreJapanese airport

After extensive planning beginning in 1985,dredging works for the Central JapanInternational Airport known as Centrairwas begun in the year 2000 and the airport officially opened in February 2005. The Central Japan International Airport islocated on reclaimed land in the Bay of Ise,approximately 2 km offshore fromTokoname City, some 35 km south ofNagoya. Convenient access from Chubu’smain cities to Centrair will be achievedthrough the domestic air service network,the Tokaido Shinkansen (bullet train), andthe Tomei and Meishin Expressways.

Central Japan Airport opened in February 2005.

Planned to operate 24 hours a day, Centrair is

expected to be the new gateway to central Japan.

Australian airports in the sea

The Kingsford Smith Airport in Sydneyis the hub of Australia’s national andinternational air traffic network. The airportwas first extended on a peninsula fromreclaimed sand in Botany Bay in the 1960s,and again in the 1970s. But it continued tooutgrow its space. In the 1990s a thirdrunway on reclaimed land was built in thewater parallel to the existing runway.

Another maritime infrastructure project,Brisbane International Airport wasdeveloped in 1985 on a swampy site northof Brisbane, the capital of the province ofQueensland, Australia. Forecasts indicatethat the current airport will reach capacityby 2013 and plans are now being made toconstruct a new parallel runway 2 km tothe west of the existing main runway. The construction of the runway will requireapproximately 15 million m3 of sand fillwhich will probably be sourced fromMoreton Bay.

At Kingford Smith Airport, Sydney, Australia, the third runway being built next to the existing runway into Botany Bay.

The completed third runway at

Sydney’s airport which was

officially opened in 1994-1995.


New site in the water for the NewDoha Airport

Qatar is getting ready to build the NewDoha International Airport (NDIA), some 4 km from the existing facility. The project started in early 2004 with adetailed planning and design phase and iscontinuing with a massive land reclamationproject. A key feature is that 40% of the1,700-hectare site area will be built onreclaimed land from the Arabian Gulf. The land reclamation is estimated to requireabout 60 million m3 of sand to be minedfrom the sea.

Brisbane International Airport under construction in the 1980s. Proposals are being considered for a new runway.

The latest in the series of airports on

reclaimed land in the sea will be

the New Doha International Airport, Qatar.


Flying into Singapore’s Changi Airportis always a treat

Catering to an unprecedented demand forair travel, in 1975 the government of Singapore decided to build a new airport inChangi, on the eastern tip of Singapore.Almost 200 hectares of swampland werecleared for the construction of the airport.More than half of Changi Airport‘s totalland was reclaimed from the sea usingseven cutter suction dredgers 24 hours perday. In the process over 40 million m3 ofsand were reclaimed from the seabed. And this was just the beginning.Throughout the 1980s, 1990s and throughto the present day, dredging, constructionand expansion at Changi Airport continuesat a rapid pace.

Thousands of vertical drains were

used in Singapore to accelerate

subsoil consolidation.

Singapore’s Changi Airport development in the 1970s.


The new Hong Kong airport on an artificial

island is up and running (1998).

View of the runways being built on the new Hong Kong

airport platform.

Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong:“the dredging project of the century”

The magnitude of the maritime infra-structure work at Chek Lap Kok Airportsays it all. Built to the north of LantauIsland in the 1990s, at the peak ofconstruction 14 trailing suction hopperdredgers, 4 cutter suction dredgers, 3 booster pump stations, 7 grab dredgersand some 20 hopper barges were deployedfrom all over the world. In record time, a small, hilly island Chek Lap Kok wasmerged with the smaller Lam Chau islandand was transformed into one mammothflat platform as a base for a 1250 ha landreclamation site. The airport officiallyopened in 1998 and building continues.Other large-scale dredging and maritimeconstruction works around Hong Kong will continue through 2015.

Aerial overview of the two islands merged into one to create Chek Lap Kok airport.


The Saudi Arabia to BahrainCauseway

Construction of the King Fahd SaudiArabia Bahrain Causeway started in1981 and the Causeway was officiallyopened five years later in November 1986.This link between the two countries acrossthe Gulf of Salwa was one of the greatestcivil engineering challenges at the time. The total length of the causeway is 25 kmwith seven embankments having a totallength of 12.5 km and five bridge sectionswith a total length of 12.5 km. The embankments are in general located inthe shallow parts of the bridge alignment.Some 3.5 million m3 of rock, hauled over600 km from the Emirates on barges, were used for the outer bunds of theembankments and 8.5 million m3 of sandfill. Rock and sand fill are separated by500,000 m2 of filter fabric. In addition tothe sand fill for the embankments, some5.5 million m3 were dredged and reclaimedfor site facilities and the production ofconcrete.

View of the embankments

of the Causeway

under construction.

Causeways, bridges, tunnels and other ways of connecting the world

Moving people, traffic, trucks, and trains across great distances is one of the necessities of our urbanised world. Modern techniques ofmaritime infrastructure construction are making this easier. Creating ways of connecting otherwise unconnected landmasses. Like causewaysand bridges and tunnels for road and rail traffic to compete with ferries. In the 1980s as part of the construction boom in the Middle East,a causeway was built between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. In the 1990s parts of Scandinavia were linked up. And now South America is seeingthis kind of bridge. Tunnels also have made it possible to shorten travel distances easily and safely, crossing rivers, estuaries and canals.Just a few of the dredging and maritime infrastructure solutions that bring countries and people closer together.

Land reclamation

as the causeway

takes shape.


Crossing the Rio Parana delta by road

Completed in 2002, the much-needed fixed link project between the cities ofRosario and Victoria in Argentina across the Rio Parana delta provide an essentialconnection for local and internationaltransports. The two-lane road plus railwayconnection consists of 13 bridges and 13 embankments covering almost 60 km.Prior to this fixed link the nearest twocrossings were 180 km upstream ordownstream from Rosario. The new linkprovides an economic boost to the port ofRosario, and to trade, industry and tourismin the northeastern part of Argentina.

Sunlight on one of the bridge links of the Rosario-Victoria Fixed Link.

An aerial satellite image of the Rio Parana

delta area in Argentina showing the projected

fixed link between Rosario and Victoria.


Bridging the Scandinavian waters

Seven thousand years ago during the IceAge Denmark and Sweden were landlockedto each other. With the opening of theØresund Fixed Link in 2000 they arelinked again. A 17 km bridge, the world’slongest single bridge carrying both roadand railway traffic, now goes fromCopenhagen, Denmark to Malmo, Sweden.This replaces a 45 minute ferry ride with a10 minute road trip. The other monumental Scandinavianconnection is the Storebaelt (Great Belt)Fixed Link. Opened in 1997-98, it was thebiggest construction project Denmark hadever undertaken and created a road and railconnection over the Storebaelt, or GreatBelt, a wide body of water going into theBaltic Sea, where thousands of cars andpeople were transported by ferries. It consists of the 6800 m long West Bridgeextending from the large Danish islandFunen to the little isle of Sprogø, and thenfrom the east to the very large islandZealand with a traffic bridge (6600 m long)and a railway tunnel. Taken together these phenomenal infra-structure projects are fulfilling one of thegoals of the European Union: to create atrans-European rail and road network,another step towards a borderless Europewhere individual countries are gettingphysically and economically closer to eachother.

Construction work

at the Øresund.

Øresund Fixed Link under construction with the

bridge in the background.


Reclamation works at Sprogø, Denmark, to create an artificial island in the Storebaelt.

An aerial view of the West bridge across the Storebaelt.

A closer view of one of the pylons of the

Storebaelt connection.


Belgian tunnels give easy access toAntwerp

Built between 1964 and 1968, the KennedyTunnel under the River Scheldt linkingAntwerp and Ghent was one of the first ofthe modern Belgian tunnels. First trenching was done for the immersion of theprefabricated tunnel elements and thenbackfilling to keep the elements in place.As traffic for industry and commerce at thePort of Antwerp increased, the existingtunnels between the Antwerp’s Right andLeft Banks of the River Scheldt were notadequate. Planning for future industrialexpansion, the Liefkenshoek Tunnel (1989)was added, making sure it could alsohandle dangerous goods. A large trenchwas dredged in which the tunnel elementswould be submerged. But because of theScheldt’s sandy bottom and strong currentscontinual dredging was required up to thevery last hours before the actual sinking ofthe tunnel caissons took place.

Maritime construction helps sink tunnels

Tunnels in the northern European countries are more a necessity than a luxury. Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany are crisscrossed byrivers. Each country has major cities as hubs in the midst of large areas of water. Sometimes bridges are a solution, sometimes because ofnavigational considerations tunnels make more sense.

The tunnel elements being placed at the

Kennedy Tunnel, ready to be sunk.

An overview of the Kennedy Tunnel near Antwerp in Belgium..

Transporting the tunnel elements to be submerged for the Liefkenshoek Tunnel.


The German tunnel connection

The Ems Tunnel, an important connectionunder the River Ems in Germany, was alsoconstructed in the late 1980s by immersingprefabricated tunnel sections into a trenchdredged in the riverbed.

On the far (eastern) side ofAmsterdam, the Netherlands

The Piet Hein Tunnel (1997), at theeastern end of Amsterdam’s docklands, isat 1900 m long the longest traffic tunnel inthe Netherlands. Some 1250 m was madeof submerged sections for which largeexcavation works were carried out. The tunnel is part of the continuingdevelopment of more eastern areas ofAmsterdam. It is situated in the midst ofseveral new building projects.

Work on the river bank for

the Piet Hein Tunnel,

on the east side of Amsterdam,

the Netherlands.

Preparations for

the Ems Tunnel, Germany.


Land reclamation reshapes the world

When it comes to land reclamation, “Your wish is my command” seems to be the slogan of the private dredging and maritimeconstruction industry in the last few decades. With new techniques for digging deeper for sand, with larger vessels able to travelgreater distances to borrow pits and back, and improved technologies like GPS, there seems to be no limits to what new worlds can be built.

One of the first: Abidjan, Ivory Coast

With the first large scale applications of the centrifugal pump, large sand-winningprojects became possible. One of theearliest works was the reclamation worksfor dyke construction at the new industrialarea on the Bay of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Dyke construction at Abidjan,

Ivory Coast in the 1960s.

Japan’s expansion in the 1970s

Major reclamation works in Japan nearKawasaki in Tokyo Bay and OitaPrefecture on the southern island ofKyushu were executed in the 1970s andearly 80s to develop large industrial estates.These two projects were special as for thefirst time sand was extracted from the seabedfrom depths exceeding 80 m. The deep-suction dredging technique opened thepossibilities for large-scale reclamation projectsin Tokyo Bay and other places where spacefor large land-based industrial and residentialareas is scarce. Japanese and Dutchdredging companies jointly developed theheavy deep-suction equipment. The deep-suction dredger Dejima, built in 1974, wasat the time the first of its kind capable ofdredging in open seas, using a novel swellcompensation system.

The deep-suction dredger Dejima off the coast of Japan. Built in 1974, it was the first of its kind

capable of dredging in open seas, using a newly developed swell compensation system.

Downtown Hong Kong grows too

Part of the burst of activities in the 1990sin Hong Kong (besides container terminalsand the new airport) was the expansion ofthe Central Business area. Approximately20 ha of land north of Central werereclaimed, extending the waterfront up to350 m beyond the then-existing shorelineand breathing new life into an enlargedCentral Business District.

development of Taiwan. The dredgingprogramme already completed thereincludes the main channel, the turningbasin and berths that will facilitate largervessels. Another is the huge reclamation atYun Lin for the new petrochemical plantby Formosa Plastics Group.

More land for Taiwan

The island of Taiwan has not been leftbehind in the surge in land reclamation. On the heavily populated and industrialisedisland many large reclamation projects are either being planned or are underconstruction. For instance, KeelungHarbour which was built over 100 yearsago and has contributed to the economic

Numerous ships can be seen building new land in the Maasvlakte near Europort, Rotterdam.

Maasvlakte, artificial land aroundRotterdam’s harbour

Meanwhile in Europe, expansion aroundRotterdam’s harbour was also going fullspeed ahead. The Maasvlakte is at theentrance to the Port of Rotterdam, locatedwest of Europort in the North Sea. Sincethe 1970s an area of some 30 km2 havebeen reclaimed. In ongoing dredgingprogrammes, the Port of Rotterdam hasmade the infrastructure, terminal areas,roads, quaywalls and waterways withsufficient depth to accommodate thelargest vessels. With these huge vesselscame an increase in the need in theEuroport area for industrial terrains for portrelated industries such as petro-chemicalindustries and liquid and dry bulk storagefacilities. The huge Maasvlakte built onreclaimed land was the answer. In 1973 thefirst ships moored in the new port area. By 1990 the area was dotted with a mix ofcontainer terminals, liquid bulk loading andstorage facilities, dry bulk transshipment,mainly coal and iron ore and a power plant.Gradually this huge “vlakte” or plain isgetting fully occupied and plans are wellunderway to make Maasvlakte II extendingfurther into the North Sea.

The ever-growing waterfront of the city of Hong Kong.

Dredging and revetment work at

the port of Keelung in Taiwan.


Malaysia keeps pace with itsneighbours

The shores of the Malay Peninsula on theStraits of Malacca and the Straits of Johorhave one thing in common. They arecovered with mangrove vegetation, small

meandering rivers and gently slopingmuddy flats into the sea. At some placesrivers are sufficiently deep to enable localfishermen to moor their fishing boats inprotected inland waterways. Only a fewentrances have become regular ports, such as Klang the seaport of Kuala

Lumpur, Lumut, Butterworth and PasirGudang, with the Port of TanjungPelepas as the latest major port inMalaysia. Several extensive industrial sitesand residential areas have been createdclose to these ports. Special industrial zones to attract foreigninvestment were realised close to the northport at Klang in the early 1980s. In 1996an industrial development area was madenear the port of Lumut. Also in the mid-1990s an enormous development schemewas created for Pulau Indah, or SplendidIsland as it is translates from Malay. Near the Port Klang area, Pulau Indahcomprises an integrated industrial park on2400 ha, reclamation for roads and for theconstruction of a marina and residentialwaterfront project as well as a huge resort.

Maritime infrastructure

construction (1996) at Lumut,

Malaysia.

The enormous land reclamation at

Pulau Indah, Malaysia for industry,

housing and recreation.

Reclamation works at Port Klang,

the seaport of Kuala Lumpur.

53

Jurong and Tuas and Singapore justkeep on growing

Situated in the southwest corner of theisland of Singapore, for three decadesJurong and Tuas have been the site ofincredible land reclamation. Jurong startedout largely as swamp lands. Graduallystarting in the 1980s industry arrived, and success bred success. More industryneeded more land. From then until nowseven islands were amalgamated into onebig island, creating an industrial estate ofmonumental proportions. A landdevelopment that is inextricably tied toSingapore’s development into an industrialgiant. Ultimately more than 1000 million m3

of sand will be placed. And together theJurong and Tuas extensions will add 1460 ha to the landmass of Singapore.

The Jurong-Tuas Reclamation project for the industrial development of Singapore.

Phase 2 of the Jurong

Island development,

Singapore.

A view of the

Tuas peninsula,

Singapore.

IJburg, new land for an old city

Amsterdam may be the capital of a countrythat is used to making its own land, butthe IJburg project just north of this oldDutch city has even amazed the Dutch.Since the 1960s the demand for housinghas continued to outstrip the supply andthe long-term plan to provide 100,000 newhomes by the year 2005 seemedimpossible. Time for a novel solution to the municipal strategic policy: the IJburg.Starting with an experiment in 1995, real land reclamation began in 1998. Built on over 10 million m3 of sand, the first two artificial islands have beencreated, houses are ready, and residents are moving in. Work on more residentialand recreational islands has started.

IJburg construction progresses with more areas being filled.

Beginning of spraying sand to construct the IJburg island.


Above and right,

gradually filling in

the island.

Haveneiland is ready; construction for the

Steigereiland is underway.


Clearing the air at Smokey Mountain,Philippines

In the mid-1990s a waste site on theoverpopulated outskirts of Manila, calledSmokey Mountain was transformed. With reclaimed land from the adjoiningManila Bay, an area of 79 ha wasrehabilitated and rebuilt into a newresidential and light commercial complex.Since then the basin, access channel andother areas have also been maintained.

Smokey Mountain

reclamation project is now

a new residential area

near Manila.

Right, Guayaquil, Ecuador,

before the reclamation works;

Below, dry ground at Guayaquil,

after the reclamation works.

Clean sand for clean housing atGuayaquil, Ecuador

Subject to tidal movements and floods,whole parts of this swampy residential areaof the port of Guayaquil were unsafe andunhygienic. After blowing huge volumes ofsand underneath these dwellings standingon stilts, a complete suburb of this port citywas cleaned up. Clean sand made newclean living quarters for some 100,000indigenous people.


Crowded Maldives builds a newisland

Cramped on a coral island cluster in theIndian Ocean? Then build yourself a newisland. When the Maldives Housing andUrban Development Board called for thereclamation of an artificial island of almost190 ha, the dredging and maritimeconstruction industry obliged. Taking greatcare of the coral reefs, Hulhumale Islandis the same size as the capital city Male but1 m higher, giving the nod to rising sealevels. Male itself has built a seawall aroundthe city for protection. With land reclamationcompleted in 2002, some 1,500 peoplehave already opted to move into the firsthouses erected on the new island.

Singapore gets new residentialestates too

All over Singapore maritime constructionand land reclamation is visible. So too inthe northeastern areas like Pulau Tekong,Pulau Ubin and Punggol where land isbeing created for housing and commercialestates. Always looking to the future,Singapore is preparing for increasingpopulations and the maritime constructionindustry is ready and able to help.

Artificial Hulhumale Island rises from the sea next to Male, the capital of the Maldives.

Punggol on the northeastern

coast of Singapore is one of

several reclamation areas for

new housing and recreation.

Stone pitching is part of the revetment works to protect the newly developed land around Pulau Ubin.


OIL, GAS, WIND: ENERGY FOR NOWAND THE FUTUREDespite attempts to find alternative fuelsources, the International Energy Outlook2004 (US Department of Energy) indicatesthat oil still dominates our energy needs.Consider this: from 1949 to 1972 thedemand for oil increased by 5.5 times inthe USA, by 15 times in Western Europeand by 137 times in Japan. Fast forward to today: The world market energyconsumption is projected to increase by 54 percent over the 24-year forecasthorizon from 2001 to 2025.

Where is this fuel to come from? Over thelast forty years, oil has been the world’sforemost source of primary energy. In theforeseeable future this is not expected tochange. OPEC producers are still expectedto be the major suppliers of the world’sever-increasing energy requirements.However, non-OPEC sources should remaincompetitive, and offshore resources,especially in the Norwegian Continental

Shelf, East Russia (Sakhalin), the CaspianBasin, Latin America, and deep-water West Africa, seem to be likely suppliers.Other recent discoveries, while relativelysmall, are often located in deep offshorewaters or other remote locations.

Offshore platforms and submarine pipelinesare essential links in bringing fuel toonshore customers. The increase in theneed for platforms and pipelines means an increase in the need to protect themfrom scouring, and therefore an increasedneed for dredging – to prepare the seabed,dig the trenches, and then protect thesepipelines and platforms with sand, graveland rock to assure that they stay put in the trench or on the seabed. This service tothe offshore industry can be seen along theNorth Sea coasts of Europe from Norway to France, in the Caspian Sea and on theNorthwest Shelf of Australia. Or in theBeaufort Sea and off the coast of

Newfoundland, Canada. In these colderclimates dredging companies havedeveloped specialised techniques to protectthe sub-sea wells and pipelines fromiceberg scour.

Given the world’s insatiable thirst forenergy, and the limited existing sources ofoil, it is easy to predict that new sources of energy will have to be found. Liquefiednatural gas (LNG) in particular is becomingmore attractive and creating infrastructuredemands of its own. LNG plant facilitiesand ports are growing as the number ofLNG carrier vessels increases daily. Theexpectation is that the specialised fleet forLNG will continue to grow substantially inthe next few years. And that the ships willbe equal in size to some of the newer verylarge container ships. Which means a need

Shore approach dredging using a sea-going trailing

suction hopper dredger.

Oil, gas, wind: energy for now and the future 59

for new or deepened harbours and berthsas well as for safe storage areas far fromurban centres, for instance, on offshoreartificial islands.

No discussion of energy is completewithout mentioning alternative sources.These “green” renewable energy sourcesare being avidly sought. And here too thecapabilities of the private dredging industrywill be utilised. Wind farms, for instance,are most often placed at sea on pylons oron artificial islands, where maritimeconstruction is required to ensure theirstability and safety.

Clearly the techniques of dredging andmaritime infrastructure construction areessential to the energy industry. The projectsthat follow illustrate just a few of the manywhere the private dredging and energyindustries have worked as partners to keepthe engines of the modern world running.

The innovative NorFra pipeline system

In 1995 Norway and France agreed totransport natural gas from the Draupner riserplatform to Dunkirk on the northern coastof France. The NorFra transportationsystem comprises a 42-inch diameter, 835 km long high pressure natural gaspipeline of which 575 km had to be buriedin the seabed to prevent damage fromshipping traffic, anchors and fishing nets.

Installation of the cofferdam and winch foundations at Dunkirk.

Using the most up-to-date equipment,offshore pre-sweeping and seabed levelling;pre-trenching in stiff clay; dredging,backfilling and civil works related to theshore approach, beach crossing and pipepull at Dunkirk were all accomplished safelyand securely in record time. At the timeNorFra was considered to be the world’slongest submarine pipeline. Delivery of gasto France began in July 1998.

60

Submarine pipelines bring gas and oilall over Europe

The oil crisis in 1973 launched the search for resources beyond the Middle East, forinstance, in the North Sea off the coast ofNorway. And indeed enormous discoveriesof oil and gas were made. Their impact onEuropean energy supplies has been intense.Instead of dependency on Middle Eastern oil and gas, Europe has had its ownsupplies. In fact, Norway is sitting onapproximately half the remaining reservesof oil and gas in Europe. Norwegian NorthSea pipelines go to England, Germany,Belgium and France. What’s more this oiland gas does not have to be transportedoverland. Submarine pipeline transportationhas proven far more cost-efficient.Much has already been accomplished, likeZeepipe, Europipe I and II, and the NorFrapipeline and in July 2005, Ormen Lange.Some 6600 km of offshore pipelines havealready been laid.

From Norway to Belgium via Zeepipe

One of the first North Sea pipelayingprojects, Zeepipe, stretches along theBelgian Continental Shelf from theNorwegian gas field Sleipner more than800 km to Zeebrugge, Belgium. Risky andcomplex, the project required a year ofthorough preparation before the workbegan. But once started, the pre-sweeping,preparing the seabed, and trenching wasaccomplished in only four months fromMarch through July 1991. Following that,the pipeline was laid, and then precise andcareful post-trenching and backfillingcommenced to complete the job.

The shallow waters near the Belgian coast

meant that a long access channel had to be

dredged towards the cofferdam to allow the

entrance of the flat bottom lay barge.

An artificial peninsula with cofferdam

structure was created to allow save

shore approach and pipe pulling.


From Norway to Germany viaEuropipe

Going 670 km from the Draupner riserplatform in the Norwegian North Sea toEmden Germany, Europipe I passesthrough the protected coastal wetlands ofthe Wadden Sea National Park. A highlysensitive ecological area, the pipeline hadto cross sandbanks, tidal mudflats andcoastal dykes with the minimum ofenvironmental disturbance. Ninety shipswere involved in dredging, pipelaying andbackfilling work through the near-shorezone. Deliveries of gas officially began inOctober 1995. At the same time an additional length ofpipeline was laid which was connected laterto the rest of the Europipe II trunkline.This meant that an important requirementfor expanding gas transport capacity toGermany was already in place. The 42-inchEuropipe II gas trunkline runs for 660 kmfrom Kårstø north of Stavanger to Dornumon the German coast. Deliveries throughthe line began in October 1999.

Transmediterranean gaslines

The 2200 km TransMed pipeline was laidin the mid-1970s from Algeria throughTunisia to Italy. In the past decade, shoreapproaches for the TransMed pipelinebetween Tunisia and Italy and for theGibraltar crossing between Morocco andSpain have been safely and precisely laid.With North African gas resourcesincreasingly supplying the Europeanmainland, especially Italy, in July 2005 newpipeline construction between Sicily andLibya was performed.

The gas pipeline between Italy and Tunisia: Shore approaches and landfalls for offshore pipelines are delicate

and complex hydraulic engineering projects.

Landfall at the 2 km long trench at

Mellitah, Libya which will carry

three pipelines to Gela, Sicily.


Bacton to Zeebrugge energyconnection

Opened in October 1998, and stretchingfrom Bacton in eastern England to Zeebruggein Belgium, the Interconnector can carrysome 20 billion cubic metres of gas peryear from the UK to Continental Europeand as much as 8.5 billion cubic metres theother way round. The construction of theInterconnector demanded trenching,backfilling, construction of a landfall andonshore pipelaying.

The Interconnector is a flexible

energy link between the UK

and continental Europe.

Artist’s rendering of flexible fallpipe.

Ormen Lange gas field

Ormen Lange is the second largest gasdiscovery on the Norwegian Shelf and, atwater depths ranging from 850 to 1100 m,the first deep-water project there. To secureand protect the pipelines on a highly

uneven seabed, rock installations areimperative. Some 2.8 million tonnes of rocktransported from quarries along Norway’scoast will ultimately be placed on theseabed by means of a flexible fallpipemethod. Work began in 2004 and willcontinue through 2007.

Artist’s rendering of rock bunds as pipe supports on the very deep seabed.


Re-trenching an old gasline: the Eemssinker

After 30 years on the riverbed betweenGermany and the Netherlands, the strongcurrents had a powerful scouring effect onthe Eems sinker pipeline. Extremeprecision and extraordinary safety measureswere necessary to lift up a 500-m section of“live” gasline that was being exposed, andretrench the area and lay it down again.And to do all this without interrupting theenergy supplies to Eemshaven’s powerstations and the Dutch gas grid.

Support frames held the

pipeline while a new and

deeper trench was dug.

A close-up of a backhoe working with extreme accuracy to deepen the trench crossing the Eems river.


An offshore pipeline linking northand south Taiwan

Northern Taiwan had a structural shortageof gas; and southern Taiwan had thesupplies. Given the predictable difficultiesof installing an onshore pipeline throughone of the most densely populated coastalplains in the world, Taiwan choose to layan offshore pipeline from Yung-An, theLNG terminal in the south, to Tung Hsiaohalfway up the coast.

installation related activities were executedin 1999 and 2000 and included dredgingand seabed preparation, scour protection at43 m below Chart Datum and the tow-outand installation of the massive 90,000 tonneconcrete gravity structure 50 km offshore.From the platform, a 504-km-long pipelinerequired support berms as well as a stoneprotection layer. At the end of the line alandfall was made at Batangas. To form thelevel foundation for the platform andprotect the pipeline, large amounts ofstone were placed using a high precisionflexible fallpipe technique. Gas productionstarted in January 2002.

The cutter suction hopper

dredger at work for the shore approach

off the coast of Taiwan.

Deep-water gas from Malampaya topower Philippines

The Malampaya Field Development, a joint undertaking of Shell, Chevron-Texacoand PNOC, serves to produce natural gasfor the Republic of the Philippines. Marine

The tow-out of the massive 90,000

tonne concrete gravity structure for

the Malampaya gas field.

Bringing gas from Indonesia toSingapore

Following an agreement between Pertamina,Indonesia’s National Oil Company, andSembawang of Singapore, the WestNatuna Transportation System wasbegun to supply gas from the IndonesianWest Natuna gas fields to Singapore’sindustrial complexes. Traversing very roughseabeds with coral and rock outcrops, the28-inch diameter trunk line, 600-km-long,high pressure gas pipeline requiredsignificant seabed rectification works. Over 300 rock supports were laid and over 21 km of pipeline were covered withrock armour. Trenching took place and rock was placed at depths up to 60 m.At about the same time, gas pipelines werelaid between Sumatra, Indonesia andSingapore for PowerGas, the sole gastransporter and system operator in Singapore.For some 9.6 km submarine pipelinetrenching and placing of protective rockarmour were executed in a period of nearlyfour years. Similar work for another 17.5 kmof pipeline was done for the IndonesianPT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PTP GN) inthe Indonesian waters bordering Singapore.

Next generation of oil and gas atSakhalin, Russia

Launched in 1996, Sakhalin II is a world-class oil and gas project off the coast ofSakhalin Island, in the Russian Far East.During Phase 1 in 1999, oil production wasbegun. Now with Phase 2, the mosttechnologically advanced project on theSakhalin Shelf, Russia’s first LNG will beexported to the growing economies of Asia.Trenching, backfilling and pipelaying arebeing done for the 800-km-long pipelinesconnecting the Lunskoye concrete gravitybase structure (CGBS) production platform,located 15 km off the northeast coast ofSakhalin Island, for onward transportationthrough the onshore pipelines to the LNGplant at Prigorodnoye at the south of theisland. The Sakhalin II developmentrepresents the largest foreign directinvestment project underway in Russia.

Lifting the valve for placement for the PowerGas

project.

Two million tonnes of rock armour were placed by

two purpose-built fallpipe vessels, and a side

stone-dumping vessel.

Working in the waters near the PowerGas installation in Singapore.

Trenching for the land fall of the Sakhalin II gas pipeline.


Fighting the elements during oilexploration in Canada

Exploration for oil and gas in the icy watersoff the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Canadahave presented their own interestingchallenges over three decades.

Artificial islands and helipads in theBeaufort Sea

Spurred on by the 1973 oil crisis, areas thathad earlier been considered too remote,inaccessible or nearly impossible to operatewith economic feasibility, became attractiveexploration areas. In addition to theNorwegian North Sea, the Beaufort Sea,part of the Arctic Ocean above the Yukon,was one of these. But heavy floating iceduring some 8 months of the year limitedactivities to only 3 or 4 months a year,insufficient time to complete the drilling of5000 m boreholes. Temporary solid artificialplatforms were required to enable drillingon a continuous basis and small artificialislands were built in shallow waters within25 km from the shoreline. These islandswere built partly in wintertime when thebulk of the sand fill was transported overthe frozen sea. When exploration islands ata distance of some 100 km had to be made,sand had to be transported and dischargedby trailing suction hopper dredgers. To enablethe dredgers to operate 5 months insteadof 3 months under Arctic conditions, drasticmodifications to the vessels were made tokeep them from being crushed by heavyice. In addition heli-pads were constructedon the vessels to enable crew changes andthe supply of food in case the ship gotstuck in the ice.

Glory holes for the Canadian WhiteRose Project

At most offshore gas and oil installations,wellheads and manifolds installed on theseabed are protected against fishingtrawlers by a steel structure. For the WhiteRose Oil exploration in the northern seas,off the eastern Canadian coast, 350 kmsoutheast of Newfoundland, where

Helipads were constructed on the dredgers in the Beaufort Sea to enable crew changes and the supply of food and

other essentials in case the ships got stuck in the ice.

An artist’s underwater view of the icebergs threatening the wellhead and manifold at the White Rose oil field.

icebergs are a serious hazard, glory holesoffer a solution. A glory hole is an artificialdepression in the seabed in which thewellhead and manifold are placed toprotect it from ice keels of pressure ridgesformed when two floes collide and the iceedges are crushed. This demands extensiveand precise excavation works in difficultfrozen seas at depths of –120 m.


Finding oil in the extreme climate ofKazakhstan

Important large oil and gas reserves arepresent below the Caspian Sea inKazakhstan. In 1998, a consortium of eightlarge oil companies joined forces to explorethese reserves. To conduct these explorationsan artificial island was built by placinggeotextile fabric on the seabed, topped withgravel to ensure a sufficiently flat foundationfor the drilling equipment. Protection againstice and waves was constructed by buildingan 8 m wide armour rock berm around thecore. Working in an environmentally sensitivearea, with freezing Siberian winters, andincredibly hot summers is a challenge. Butthe exploration of the Caspian Sea depositsis of vital importance to the economicbetterment of the people of Kazakhstan.

An artificial island and underwater berm were built to withstand the extreme climate in the north Caspian Sea.

Hot time at the Ras Laffan, Qatar,LNG port

Strategically located at the center of theArabian Gulf on Qatar’s huge North Gas Field,Ras Laffan Industrial City is a fast growingindustrial export location. The North Field isbelieved by some energy experts to be thesingle largest non-associated gas field in theworld. Discovered in 1971, it covers over6000 sq km and it is believed to have 20% ofthe world’s proven gas reserves. The expansionof the Ras Laffan LNG harbour in Qatar inthe 1990s for Rasgas, which included dredgingand land reclamation, was clearly essential.

Maintaining depth at the multipurpose port at

Skikda, Algeria is important, especially for the

export of LNG by ship to Italy, France and Spain.

Maritime infrastructure works off the coast

of Ras Laffan for Rasgas in Qatar.

The harbour can be seen in the background.

Maintaining the LNG port at Skikda,Algeria

The long history of the Port of Skikda,Algeria has a new modern twist. In the1970s the port was transformed into amixed port with the inclusion of several oiljetties. In 1981, adjustments were made toincrease the harbour’s capacities. Since then

the port has never ceased to perform andplans to develop it through 2015 are onthe table. Skikda accounts for about aquarter of the LNG from Algeria, theworld’s second largest LNG exporter afterIndonesia and one of southern Europe’smain gas suppliers.


Richards Bay, Coal terminal,South Africa

Although Commissioner Henry Cloete wasnot impressed in 1843, when he surveyedthe Mhlatuze estuary and found it to havelittle or no potential as a future harbour,today Richards Bay is South Africa’spremier bulk port. Built in 1976 for theexport of coal, it has since expanded intoother bulk and break bulk cargoes. In 1986another round of major dredging workswere undertaken to further expand theharbour. In less than 30 years the port hashandled over 1 billion tonnes of coal,serving major power stations, steel mills,cement plants and heavy industries aroundthe world. In 2004 the port handled 85 million tonnes of cargo. A dedicated rail-way line links the port with MpumalangaProvince and Gauteng, from which areamost of the country’s coal exports arehandled. 200-wagon trains deliver coal ona non-stop daily basis.

The new coal port at Ennore, India

On the eastern Coromandel coast of India,20 km north of Chennai, plans for a newharbour at the small village of Ennore weredeveloped in the late 1990s. The EnnoreCoal Port including the port basin andentrance channel were excavated andextensive harbour development wassupported by the Asian Development Bank.Envisaged as a satellite port to decongestand improve the environmental quality atthe bustling Chennai Port, since its openingin 2001, Ennore Port has evolved into afull-fledged port with the capacity tohandle a wide range of products.

The many ships at work in Richards Bay,

South Africa in 1976.

A cutter suction dredger vessel working

in 1999 at the developing

Port of Ennore.


The oil and gas fields of Nigeria

In the heart of the Niger delta is the homeof the Nigerian oil industry. All types ofdredging, land reclamation, shore protectionas well as pipeline and mechanical installationprojects are necessary to maintain and explorethis important part of Nigeria’s valuableeconomic resource. In addition, in 2002 workwas begun for the Escavros gas to liquidplant project, and the necessary maritimeconstruction activies, for shore approachesand trench digging were undertaken.

Windmills return to Europe’s horizons

They don’t look like the famous windmills ofyore that dotted the European landscapes,but the modern versions are providing a sizable amount of renewable energy.More and more often, instead of beingplaced on land, these elegant wind turbinesare being located offshore. The expertise of the private dredging and maritimeconstruction industry is then necessary toinstall the turbines as well as to provideerosion protection for the cable positions

and platforms. Denmark’s Horns RevOffshore Wind Farm became operationalin 2002, with 80 turbines. Other windfarms at Samso in Denmark, Utgrunden inSweden and Thorntonbank off the Belgiancoast have utilised the services of thedredging industry. Ireland’s first offshorewind project, the Arklow Bank WindPark, located 10 km offshore, becameoperational in 2003, with future plans forsome 200 wind turbines. And other plansfor renewable wind energy are blossomingall over the world.

The Warri, Nigeria, yard development

under construction in the 1990s.

Arklow, in the Irish Sea, where

wind turbines were placed by the

self-elevating jack-up platform.

Panorama of the Horns wind farm off the western coast of Jutland in Denmark, with side-stone dumping vessel placing scour protection.

HOW TO MAKE THE POST-INDUSTRIALWORLD GREENER


When the Port of Le Havre made plans forexpansion in 2000, it also made plans forIlot Reposoir, a bird sanctuary. When HongKong’s Chek Lap Kok Airport was beingbuilt, the corner of the island where theturtles nest, was carefully preserved. These environmental stories are not theexception. In today’s dredging and maritimeconstruction industry, they are the rule.

Sustainable development. Renewable energy.Remediation. Over the last four decades,dredging companies, like society as a whole,have become more environmentallyconscious and responsible. Environmentalimpact assessments and site investigations areroutine procedures preceding any maritimeconstruction. Abiding by internationaltreaties like the London Convention and theOSPAR Convention, by the environmentalrequirements of the World Bank andEuropean Union, as well as myriad local andregional agreements goes without saying.

But contractors are not just abiding by rulesand regulations. They are actively seeking

unique techniques to solve difficultenvironmental problems. Research anddevelopment of new types of dragheads,more precise equipment to limit turbidity.Elaborate planning for maritime projectstakes into account the seasonal migrationof birds, fish and whales. Especially carefulmethods are implemented when workingnear coral reefs. This, in fact, only describesthe ecological mindset regarding nature. In older cities, remediation from pollutioncaused by the industrial era is a top priorityas well.

“Pollution must be stopped at source” is the basic premise, but sometimes that’snot enough. When the damage has alreadybeen done, remedial excavation is often the solution to persistent contaminationproblems. Take for example, the River Rhinewhich winds through several Europeancountries and lands up in the Netherlandsat a large internal lake called the Ketelmeer.For decades, industrial pollutants fromfactories along the Rhine and IJssel settledthere to form a thick layer of contaminated

sludge. With studied dedication, pilot projectswere conducted by dredging companies toclean up a mess they didn’t create. And theysucceeded, making the Ketelmeer depotprobably the world's largest and mosttechnologically advanced environmentaldredging project to date. Other suchessential environmental dredging projectsare the construction of outfalls, kilometresout to sea, ensuring that clean wastewateris discharged faraway and can cause nohealth risks.In emerging nations like Bangladesh orGhana, good care of the waterways canalso have dramatic ecological and economicimpacts. Clean and controlled rivers canmean the difference between life-threatening floods and droughts, and ahealthy river that ensures good hygiene,safe water for drinking, bathing andfishing. Balancing economy with ecology isthe bottom line. Part of that is findingbeneficial uses for dredged materials.

Interested people line the river banks of the Gorai

to watch the dredging works.

How to make the post-industrial world greener 71

Efforts are ongoing to find alternatives fordisposal and to utilise clean dredgedmaterial for environmental enhancement,habitats and flood defence. In recent yearsthe emphasis has shifted from directdisposal to managing relocation to creatingsafe confinement areas and dewateringlagoons. As a result, many beneficial useoptions have evolved where dredgedmaterial is regarded as a potential resourcefor landscaping. Where it can be used torecharge or recreate inter-tidal habitatssuch as mangroves, estuaries, coastal areasand wetlands.

A look at the projects that follow showshow dredging and maritime constructionprojects are an essential tool for creating a positive synergy between ecology andeconomy, for achieving sustainabledevelopment, for making the world greener and cleaner.

Restoration of the Gorai River,Bangladesh

For several decades, the Gorai River, a branch of the Ganges in Bangladesh, was drying up, causing difficulties for thepeople living along its banks. Sand depositswere increasing as was the water’s salinity.This led to harmful environmentalconditions, including the destruction of amangrove forest at the river’s mouth andthe lengthening of the dry season. Becausethe drought was having catastrophicconsequences, a dredging project wasinstituted to try to reverse the situation. As a direct result of this intervention, wateris flowing once again through the Gorai,even in the dry season. Villagers use the

waters of the Gorai to wash clothes andbathe, and children are playing in itsstreams. Fish are plentiful as the salinity has been reduced. Boats can be sailed allyear round and so goods can be broughtfrom village to village. The restoration oflow-water discharge has established theprerequisites for an enduring development.The certainty of sweet surface water allyear round creates the basic condition forfuture irrigation development foragriculture. Surface water also means thatwith the installation of water purificationfacilities the river can be used as a sourceof drinking water. Since the groundwater inBangladesh is contaminated with arsenic,while the surface water is not, this could bea great boon to general public health.

A cutter suction dredger moving sand to improve the flow of the Gorai River.

The Gorai River provides water for

washing and fishing. In the background

dredgers continue their work.


Remediation of Lake Tunis, Tunesia both North and South

One of the most significant environmentalprojects undertaken in the southernMediterranean is the restoration of LakeTunis. The project has taken two decades tobe realised. In 1984 the first plans weremade for the remediation of the pollutionand stagnation of the shallow North Lakeof Tunis and land reclamation for theexpansion of Tunis City. With the construc-tion of specialised circulation and pumpingsystems, the eutrophication of the northernpart of the lake was reversed. This laid thegroundwork for similar maritime construc-tion to reverse contamination in the SouthLake. More than a decade later, in 2000the clean-up began of the South Lakewhich was suffering from severe contami-nation from industry and wastes. Part ofthe contract was to continue maintenancefor 2 years and monitoring for 5 years.Situated in the middle of an urban hub, the restoration of the lake and of waterquality were urgent efforts to improve theliving conditions of the citizens of TunisCity. In the South Lake some 900 ha werereclaimed to provide public green areas andland for more than 20 thousand apartments.

Korle Lagoon ecological restoration,Ghana

Situated in Accra, the capital city of Ghana,the banks of the Korle Lagoon are densely populated. This caused amultiplicity of problems. Lack of sanitationresulted in heavy pollution, and frequentflooding during the unusually heavy rainyseason resulted in unhygienic andunhealthy living conditions, as well asdrowning of dozens of people who wereswept into the murky waters. A two-yearproject from 2000-2002, representingnumerous disciplines of dredging andmaritime construction, such as dykebuilding, canal digging and constructing abarrage and an outfall, have remedied thedangerously polluted and uncontrollablewaters of the lagoon. The new sanitationof Korle Lagoon has drastically changed thesocial situation for the citizens of Accra andhas even saved lives.

Artist’s impression of the

remediation of the North Lake

of Lake Tunis, Tunisia.

People at work on the banks of the South Lake of Tunis where new land for housing has been created.

A view of the construction to sanitise and

canalise the Korle Lagoon in one of the most

extensive ecological programmes in Africa.


Marine pollution in Izmir Bay, Turkey

The River Melez flows into Izmir Bay, oneof the largest and most enclosed bays on theAegean coast of Turkey. The Bay is amongstthe most productive water bodies on theTurkish Aegean coast. In the past, the qualityof fish caught there was highly valued.

In addition prime agricultural areas existedalong the northern shores of the Inner Bayand the Middle Bay. But urbanisation anduntreated wastewater from industrieslocated along the Arap and Melez Riverscarry pollutants to the Bay. In 1987, a dredging regime was instituted to improvethe river flow and clean industrial wastes.

Ecological restoration at the bay ofArcachon, France

A peninsula of sand dunes separates thebay at Arcachon, France from the AtlanticOcean. On the southwestern side a numberof shallow tideways form an openconnection with the ocean. As part of aprogramme to restore the ecologicalbalance in the waters, the fairway channelof Le Cheval de Piquey was deepened in2003. More sand was removed in 2004from the Banc Jan Blanc; and in 2005 theaccess channel was widened. To avoiddisturbances to breeding birds and theoyster beds, all work was done betweenOctober and March.

The remediation of the River Melez in 1987 was extensive but the problems require constant attention.

Strict environmental standards were observed during

all restoration work at the Bay of Archachon.


The Port of Delfzijl

A typical example of a small regional port,Delfzijl developed over time. The town islocated in the northeast of the Netherlands,facing the Dollard-Ems basin, close to theWadden Sea, a protected area and the mostimportant tidal wetland of Europe. In lessthan 100 years the small port was not sosmall any more, growing gradually withindustries and shipyards in the area. The latest port extensions were planned insuch a way that detrimental effects of portoperations for the close-by sensitive naturereserve were limited. Carefully dredging thetop layer of polluted material cleaned up theharbour. The harbour entrance was relocatedto minimise siltation and sedimentationinside the basin. Old industries were mademore environmentally friendly.

The Port of Hamburg

As part of the reconstruction and remediation at the Port of Hamburga confined and unused harbour basin called Rodewischhafen was used to storefine-grained and contaminated dredgedmaterial from Hamburg Harbour. Extensivestudies determined that the subaquaticconfinement provides a safe storage area forthe sediments of the harbour.

Port and harbour rehabilitation in western Europe

Ports are an essential element in the economic story of all coastal countries. They are responsible for goods, services, jobs and a constantstream of activity. They can also be the source of pollution, noise and irritation with the surrounding environs.

The construction of the dam at Delfzijl in 1964-65 had to be done with great care for the natural environment of

the Wadden Sea.

A view of the

Rodewischhafen with

the dam constructed but

no sludge yet deposited.

75

Docklands in Dublin, Irelandremediation

Remediation of industrial sites like the Dublindocklands often requires an integratedapproach, in which engineering, civil works,geohydrological works, and scientificbackground are combined. The remediationof derelict sites often requires the combi-nation of several techniques like excavation,in-situ treatment, ex-situ treatment andisolation. After clean-up redevelopment ofthe area is often an attractive option.Recently a complete clean-up and sanita-tion of a former gas plant in the Dublindocklands was successfully undertaken.

Restoration of the precious Riahabitat in Avilès, Spain

An environmental clean-up operation in the old heavily industrialised Asturias regionof Spain, has turned a contaminatedsedimentation basin of a river mouth into aninviting urban green space for the Spanishcoastal town of Avilès. The project hasrestored sound ecological conditions in thesensitive Ría Avilès habitat. The rías ofnorthern Spain are protected tidal inlets,very much like the abers in Brittany or someparts of the big estuary systems along theNorth Atlantic coast of France and the LowCountries. Some ría’s support veryproductive ecosystems, which have led tomajor economic activities such as musselfarming. However, since they provide verygood shelter from the ocean as well,important harbour facilities have developedwhich in turn caused massive pollution.Over the past decades, the Ría Avilès hasdegraded into an open sewer in betweenthe 90,000 people city of Avilès on the leftbank, and a cokes and steel factory and a power plant on the opposite bank. The rehabilitation of this industrial area,required intensive study of the chemicalcomposition and careful treatment anddisposal, but it was an important step inconverting a brownfield into a clean safearea.

Before the remediation of

the gaswork site at the

Dublin docklands.

After the remediation of

the gaswork site at the

Dublin docklands.

The Avilès area

before the clean-up.

The Avilès area

after the clean-up.


The greening of Belgium’s waterways

With the passage of time, society’s pursuit ofindustrial advancement has been broughtinto balance with its need for a cleanerenvironment. And the private dredging and maritime construction industry hasembraced this attitude, applying their skillsto an innumerable number of projects.

In Belgium, as elsewhere, new techniquesfor cleaning dredged slurry from canals and ports are continually being sought. This slurry is often contaminated with heavy metals from urban, industrial andagricultural waste. Sometimes this hasmeant the development of innovativedredge heads. Sometimes this has meantextensive laboratory studies and modelling.Several ongoing projects are related to themaintenance and clean-up of the RiverScheldt and other Belgian waterways.Artificial lagoons and dewatering sites haveproven to be an excellent way of disposingof contaminated sediments and, for thematerial that can be cleaned, re-using it forbeneficial land enhancement projects.

For instance, the Kallo Lock connects theScheldt with the Left Bank of AntwerpHarbour and is a place of accumulatingsediment. Recycled soil from the accesschannel at the Kallo Lock and the adjacentharbour area is now being used forlandscaping. Also part of environmentalmanagement programmes is thelagooning field at the Ruisbroek sitenear Brussels, used to process sedimentfrom Brussels port. Other Belgian sites forlagunation, dewatering and sediment treat-ment facilities are located at Krankeloon,Couillet and Tubize, to name a few.

Another area for the disposal of dredgedmaterial which was developed in the

Test site for landscaping at Kallo Lock, for the

disposal of fine-grained contaminated sediment

from the River Scheldt.

Dewatering and recycling of dredged material in the sludge treatment centre Vraimont at Tubize.


Disposal site for contaminated sediment

from Belgian waterways at Fasiver near Ghent.

Dewatering and silt storage and treatment site at Krankeloon, Antwerp.

Treatment of contaminated dredged material and capping of the lagooning fields at Couillet.

1990s, is Fasiver, near Ghent. Here a 42-ha deserted black-point site that wasalready severely contaminated fromindustrial overuse was first sanitised, then a confined disposal area was built, andfinally a sludge treatment centre withdewatering lagoons will be used to create a greenbelt. An example of ecological anddredging ingenuity: remediating thisindustrial wasteland into a new useableindustrial zone surrounded by a beautifiedgreenbelt.


Controlled storage of contaminatedmaterials in Rotterdam

Some 20 or more years ago, industriesalong the River Rhine and its tributaries,from Basel, Switzerland to Rotterdam theNetherlands, used the river’s water for theirproduction processes. And then pumped itback into the river, often untreated. Luckily,those days are the past. But the pollutedsediments in the delta, in the harbour basinsand waterways, did not just disappear. The solution for the problem was found inthe construction of large disposal sites, on existing land and on newly createdman-made islands. One of the first suchsites in the Rotterdam Port area was thePapegaaienbek, for the disposal of heavilycontaminated dredged materials. The depothas an area of 29 ha and a storage capacityof 1.2 million m3. In 2005 it was decidedthat the Papegaaiebek would be closed andthe contents moved to the far larger andnewer depot area of the Slufter.The Papegaaienbek served in many respectsas a rehearsal site for the Slufter, whichwas built in 1986-1987. With a storagecapacity of 150 million m3, the Slufter wasat the time by far the largest storage depotfor contaminated dredged silt in the world.The basin is located at the entrance to thePort of Rotterdam, facing the North Sea.The 2.6-million m2 basin is 29 m deep andhas a surrounding dam up to 28 m high.

The Slufter facilities include cleaning andextraction plants, so the dredged materialcan be prepared for beneficial uses. Some ofthe pollution from the River Rhine bypassedRotterdam and took a more northern route,carried by the waters of the River IJssel, abranch of the Rhine, that ultimately streamsinto Lake Ketelmeer. The bottom of theKetelmeer was covered with a layer ofcontaminated silt, on average some 50 cmthick. There were serious threats that themuch larger Lake IJsselmeer would also become contaminated and pollute the groundwater. The depot IJsseloog(IJssel-eye – the depot is perfectly round)was constructed to create a safe storage

space for the contaminated silt. The workstarted in 2000 and was completed in2002. Once the clean-up was done, itbecame possible to deepen the fairway ofthe Ketelmeer, providing access to theRiver IJssel for larger ships with a greaterdraught. Deepening the navigation channelalso benefited the environment, by shiftingroad transportation to cleaner waterwaytransportation. The deepening of anothernearby waterway, the fairway Amsterdam-Lemmer, supplied the material to realise a 70 ha large bird sanctuary De Kreupel,in addition to the 800 ha large wetlandsnature reserve IJsselmonding further tothe east.

The Slufter, with a storage capacity of 150 million m3.

The Papegaaienbek (Parrot’s

Beak) was a rehearsal for the

larger depots that followed.

Bird sanctuary De Kreupel in an early phase of realisation.

IJsseloog: It was discovered that the circle is the safest shape for a storage depot.

The mouth of the River IJssel is now surrounded by a nature reserve of wetlands.

80

Habitat restoration, waste disposaland how to solve two problems withone…

Under the name “Port 2000” the Port ofLe Havre (France) has realised a major portextension, including the construction of a new container terminal. Part of the“environmental compensation package” of the project is the creation of a birdsanctuary on a newly reclaimed island IlotReposoir, at the site of the sandbank Bancdu Ratier.Le Havre is at the mouth of the River Seine.Upstream, but still influenced by the tidalmovements, there are many silt banks inthe river – a great habitat for all types ofspecial fauna, as long as the banks areunder water at high tide, and above waterat low tide. But because of the steadyaccrual of sediments over many years thesilt banks had risen above the high waterline, and did not get immersed any longer.Result: a dying off of many of the rarestspecies. In order to save the vitality of thesilt banks a number of measures weretaken: new dams were built to guide theriver currents, a storage depot for dredgedsilt was constructed, and the pillars of thenearby bridge Pont de Normandie werestrengthened to withstand the force of thenew currents.

Tokyo’s solution for waste disposal

Not unlike other large cities with millions of inhabitants, Tokyo, Japan struggleswith a severe waste disposal problem. Thisalthough the technology of compressingwaste or otherwise minimising it, has madegreat progress in Japan in the last decade.The Shinkaimen Offshore DisposalFacility, constructed in Tokyo Bay, offers a unique solution: storing the waste inseveral different compartments, each for a different type of waste.

Shinkaimen Offshore Disposal

Facility in Tokyo Bay.

Bird sanctuary Ilot Reposoir at the mouth of the Seine.

Silt banks at the Pont

de Normandie in the

River Seine.

(Port Autonome du Havre)


Singapore has a solution too

The Pulau Semakau Offshore Landfill, 8 km south of Singapore, is very similar tothe Tokyo Bay project, and born out of thesame need to store waste. The offshoredisposal area links two islands, Semakauand Sakeng, via a 7-km bund enclosing350 ha. Part of the project, executed in1995-1999, was to restore the naturalecology by replanting mangroves over alarge area. And the mangroves are indeedflourishing.

The Besos Outfall in Barcelona, Spain

In 1994 one of Europe’s largest outfalls wasinstalled in Barcelona, Spain. Following EUguidelines, the Besos outfall was placed ina 55 m deep trench, that stretches 8 kminto the sea. The cleaned-up effluent froma primary treatment plant is released atgreat depth, so as not to disturb theswimming waters.

The Besos outfall

in Barcelona stretches

8 km into the sea.

The many compartments

of the Pulau Semakau

Offshore Landfill.

Replanted mangroves near Singapore.


TIME OUT FOR FUN: OF BEACHESAND BOATSConsider the strip of land less than fivekilometers wide stretching along the entireSpanish coastline: it represents merely 7% ofthe entire landmass of the country and yetit is occupied by a permanent population of 35% of the inhabitants of Spain. Thispopulation rises to 80% in summer, with theSpanish people drawn to it by the sun, seaand sand. And that’s not even consideringthe large number of visitors from abroad.

From the Gulf of Mexico to the MediterraneanSea to the Emirates to Australia’s Gold Coast,tourism in or near water attracts millions ofvisitors annually. With air travel moreaccessible, beach holidays in faraway placeshave become a realisable dream. Amongstthe most popular destinations for vacationingare the British Virgin Islands, Macao (China),as well as a large number of small island statesin the Caribbean and the Pacific, Hong Kongand the United Arab Emirates. Additionaldestinations such as Cyprus and Malta as

well as the coasts and islands of Spain,France, Italy and Greece provide millions oftourist with holiday relaxation. New areasof recreation and fun in the sun can befound in Dubai and its latest, enormous,artificial island building efforts.

This water-related tourism has become animportant source of national income formany countries. For emerging nations it is anessential instrument of economic and socialdevelopment. To appreciate the importanceof tourism globally consider the forecasts ofthe World Tourism Organisation that 1.6billion tourists will visit the world’s leadingdestinations by 2020, spending hundredsof millions of euros each day. Such financialforecasts place great emphasis on theeconomic basis of tourism, and key compo-nents of tourism are sun, sea and sand.

Yet no matter how much real estatedevelopment takes place along our coast-

lines, beaches are part of a natural cycle,affected by storms, hurricanes and simpleerosion. Restoring, replenishing andrepairing popular beaches, and even creatingwhole new beaches is an essential activityof dredging and maritime construction.Land reclamation for other areas is impor-tant too, for instance, for major touristresorts and amusement parks like theDisney theme park in Hong Kong and theelaborate Laguna Gamagori resort in Japan.

Speaking of which, resort areas like Gamagoriand Dubai also need marinas and yachtharbours. But when it comes to “boating”nothing tops the building boom in thecruise industry. Magnificent multi-storymillion-euro cruise ships are now beingreadied faster than you can count them.

Bridgetown Port, Barbados,

during the deepening operations.

Time out for fun: of beaches and boats 83

This trend in leisure-time cruise tourism isexpected to show double-digit growth inthe near future. With more than a 1000rooms and able to accommodate morethan 3000 passengers, “mega” cruise shipsor “floating skyscraper hotels” are lookingfor homeports and romantic destinations.As with the trend for super-sized container-ships, the acceleration in the size of cruisevessels has pushed the envelope indeveloping cruise ship harbours. Harboursthat are deep enough and quays that arelong enough to handle these luxurioustourist attractions. Tourism, and nowadays eco-tourism, is amajor economic and social force with far-reaching implications. Looking at thephotographs of the new beaches and cruiseharbours created in the last few years willprobably make you start planning your nextvacation. Just don’t forget to say “thanks”to the private dredging and maritimeconstruction industry.

Barbados: cargo and cruisesimultaneously

In the early 2000s, several Caribbeancountries have undertaken port enhance-ment projects to attract the new larger classof cruise ships. Barbados is one of these. In the spring of 2002 the BridgetownPort upgraded its cruise ship facilities withthe dredging of the inner basin (to 11.6 mdeep), and of the turning circle andentrance channels. The project proceededunder a rigorous environmental monitoringprogramme, to ensure that the oceano-graphic and sediment processes, the waterquality and the marine communities werenot compromised. Sediment from thedredging was used to reclaim 3.6 ha of

Cruise ship in Freeport’s harbour while the rock cutting was in progress.

Hard as a rock: Freeport,Grand Bahama

The booming Freeport harbour with morethan 25 ships a day coming and goingcertainly needed expansion. But the rocklayers of Freeport’s harbour are soextremely hard that the job was almostimpossible. To attack this rock, a new typeof cutting head had to be invented. Withdetermination, the cruise ship port waseffectively deepened to –16 m in 2004.

new land, where additional berths forcargo were planned. The new reclaimedarea allows the port to handle cargo andcruise ships simultaneously.


A new second pier for Antigua’s St John Harbour

The development of cruise tourism in theCaribbean over the past two decades hasbeen spectacular. What was considered alarge cruise ship twenty years ago is rarelyseen today. Ships of 15,000 tons carrying700 passengers have been replaced bymega ships of 140 000 tons carrying 3500passengers and 1000 crew. These new ships offer their passengers almost all theamenities they require, from theme bars to wall climbing and even ice-skating. The food on board is as good as you canget in any of the world’s better restaurants.In order to cater to the requirements ofthese ships, an expensive infrastructuremust be in place. Antigua, blessed withone of the best natural harbours in theregion, invested in its future by bringing itsfacilities up to par. In 2001-2002 St John’sharbour was dredged to a depth of 11.6 m, the entrance channels were widened, the turning circle deepened so the ships

Extension of Port de la Condamine,Monaco

A large multi-level floating dyke wasconstructed as part of the extension of the Port de la Condamine in Monaco. The dyke will be used for parking cars and the mooring of yachts. Long 352 m,the dyke is attached to the seabed withanchors, perpendicular to “the Rocher deMonaco”. At the junction of shore anddyke a large concrete caisson has beenplaced on a backfill of stone. For thisprecision work a dynamic positioningtracking system was used.

Today, with two piers instead of one,

Antigua can handle four cruise ships at a time.can manoeuvre, Heritage Quay refurbishedand extended. A whole new quay was builtoff Redcliffe Quay so that four large shipscan now be berthed downtown.

How does one operate a

dredger in Monaco’s old port?

Very carefully...


Renovation of St Maarten’s harbourfacilities

Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch part of St Maarten, is four parallel streetssqueezed between Great Bay, where thecruise ships dock, and Salt Pond, where saltwas made many years ago. The pittoresqueCreole houses on the shore have beenrestored, providing arriving boats with aglimpse into the island’s past. The largerhotels sit at the edge of town or justaround the rocky promontory thatseparates Great Bay from Little Bay. Being one of the Caribbean’s leading cruisedestinations, with over 800,000 cruisevisitors a year, was reason enough toupgrade the harbour so that cruise shipscould tie up at a new terminal. New portdevelopment started in 1998 by dredging a new 10 m deep basin and reclaimingsome 1.2-million m3 harbour front area.Container and other cargo facilities wereerected. Sand from the dredging was usedto replenish Great Bay beach and aboardwalk was built running essentiallyfrom Greenhouse Restaurant to the CaptainHodge Pier in the center of town. In thesummer of 2004, the boardwalk wasextended and Front Street was beautified,adding trees and eliminating parking.

Ongoing reclamation

works near Philipsburg,

St Maarten.

After construction,

the new facilities

near Philipsburg.

Nourishing beaches from theMediterranean to the Atlantic to the Gold Coast of Australia

Lapped by the Mediterranean Sea and theAtlantic Ocean, Spain boasts over 1800 kmof wonderful beaches in a wide range oflandscapes and settings. Its natural wealthand benign climate encapsulate importantecosystems in terms of both flora and fauna.

These great features come with demographicconsequences. As it is, the narrow strip of 5 km wide along the Spanish coast, whichrepresents no more than 7% of thecountry’s total land area, is home to 35%of its total population. And in the hottestpart of the summer 80% of the Spanishpeople head to the sea to cool off. This means that the quality of Spain’sbeaches is a major factor in the economicand social life of the country. A goodreason to take stabilising measures indefence of the beaches, for their

regeneration and improvement. Since 1988,nourishment with dredged sand has beenfound to be the solution in recoveringvarious beaches that were in the process of disappearing. Amongst the nourishedbeaches were Maresme Beaches (BarcelonaProvince, 1993-4), Calafell and VendrellBeaches (Tarragona Province, 1993),Victoria Beach in Cadiz (1991), and earlierthe beaches of Malaga (1990) and Alicante(1991). Later beach regeneration projectstook place in Mallorca and Huelva, and at Playa de Zurriola in San Sebastian.

The regeneration of the beach at San Sebastian, Spain, included guiding the currents to prevent further erosion.

Fresh sand for the beaches of

Mallorca, largest of the Balear islands.

Repairing the damage done by a storm at

the beach of Huelva, northwest of Cadiz.


Of course, other countries along theMediterranean also nurture and nourishtheir beaches, such as Ischia, an islandnear Naples, Italy. And even on the other side of the world in Australia, beach nourishment is anurgent necessity, as witnessed atCurrumbin-Tugun Beach, part ofAustralia’s Gold Coast, known to featuresome of the most incredible beaches in the entire world.

Beach replenishment in Ischia, an island just northwest of Capri.

Currumbin-Tugun Beach (Australia)

before nourishment, in July 1989.

The same Australian beach after

nourishment and dune revegetation,

in April 1992.


Enhancing the beaches of theLowlands

Looking at a map of Europe it may seemthat the coasts of the Netherlands andBelgium are protected from Atlantic stormsby the location of Great Britain. That is onlypartially true. In fact, the Lowlands knowsquite well the heavy storms, powerful tidalforces and strong eroding currents of theNorth Sea, especially in the period fromNovember to March. No wonder that overthe last decades many beach enhancementprojects have been carried out along theNorth Sea coastline. Originally theseprojects emphasised the coastal defenceaspects, the protection of the low-lyingareas behind the dunes, but later on therecreational aspects, stimulation of thetourist industry, became equally asimportant. Beach nourishment atZandvoort (Amsterdam’s sea resort), Den Helder (where the Wadden Seabegins), Delfland (close to Delft and The Hague), Knokke (close to Bruges,Belgium) and Ostend, Belgium’s mostfamous beach “where Europe’s royals usedto go” are just a few of the beaches thatget regular sand replenishment.

Nourishment for enhancement

of the Delfland beaches.

Zandvoort, The Netherlands: replenishing the beach always attracts thousands of seagulls.


Repairing the damage a storm caused close to Den Helder. Usually beach

nourishment takes place ouside the tourist season, but here an exception

had to be made.

Ostend is not only Belgium’s premier sea resort but also its main passenger port.

Nourishing the beach of

Knokke, today Belgium’s most

elegant sea resort.


The Eighth Wonder of the World

The Palm Islands in front of the coast ofDubai, capital of the United Arab Emirates,have been proclaimed the “eighth wonderof the world”, and they are indeedamazing feats of marine engineering and

construction; they will most certainly helpto maintain Dubai’s position as a premiumtourist destination. There will be three Palm Islands: Palm Jumeirah (ready as of2004), Palm Jebel Ali (to be completed in2007), and Palm Deira. Construction of theland site of Palm Deira Corniche was startedin 2004. The first two Palm islands arebeing built in the shape of a date palm tree,with a trunk and a crown with 17 fronds.The palm is surrounded by a crescent dam,whose seaside forms the breakwater. The Jumeirah Palm Island is primarily aretreat and residential area for living,relaxation and leisure. It contains all typesof hotels, thousands of villas and thousandsof shoreline apartments. Palm Jebel Ali willbe more an entertainment destination,including six marinas, a water theme parkand water homes built on stilts, betweenthe fronds and the crescent. Palm Deira will be the largest of the threeislands, 14 km long and 8.5 km wide.

Palm Jumeirah with the reclamation phase

completed. The island is visible from the

moon, with the naked eye.

Two fronds of Palm Jumeirah, with villas, townhouses, and apartments under construction, showing the enormous size of the man-made island. In two weeks time,

all of the real estate had been sold.


One of the two Logo Islands,

almost touching the coast.

Never was more rock used than for

these projects in front of Dubai.

More than ten trailing suction hoppers have been involved in the creation of Palm Jebel Ali.

It will have 41 fronds and contain 8000villas and townhouses. The first two islandswill each have taken over 100 million m3

of rock and sand to build. Together the firsttwo islands add 120 km to Dubai’sshoreline. The three Palm islands will be the largest man-made islands in the world,with Palm Deira, once ready, in first place.In the meantime projects similar to thePalm Islands have been undertaken. On either side of the trunk of the PalmJumeirah, two islands were built in theshape of the logo of the developer. They are private islands, with beaches and yachting facilities. The Logo Islands,including one 200-m quay wall, werecompleted in February 2005.And then there is The World, a projectthat involves the reclamation of aconglomerate of artificial islands in theshape of various continents of the globe.


From Dubai to Doha to the Seychelles

The reclamation of The World in front ofthe coast of Dubai is expected to becompleted end of 2005. It will involve thecreation of 250 islands within theperimeters of breakwaters, the dredging,transport and placement of 300 million m3

sand, and the building of the largest

breakwater ever. The various breakwatersunder construction for this project will besome 25 km long in total. Investors canonly buy one or more whole islands, notmere lots, and each island ranges between25,000 and 100,000 m2 in size. Some 400 km west of Dubai one will findDoha, capital of Qatar, where the Pearl ofthe Gulf project is under development.

It is a US$2.5 billion offshore real estateproject, a Riviera-style man-made islandthat will cover 400 ha of reclaimed land.The Pearl will create 30 km of new coast-line. The four-phase development willeventually house over 30,000 residents inan up-scale and multicultural community.The reclamation work is underway sincemid-2004.

The World consists of 250 man-made islands surrounded by a circle of breakwaters.

View of the Pearl of

the Gulf, off the coast

of Qatar. The beaches

of Qatar itself were

also reshaped as part

of the total project.

Investors can build

whatever they want

on their islands.


Quite a bit south of Dubai, north ofMadagascar, in the Indian Ocean, one willfind a group of islands called the Seychelles.Victoria, on Mahe Island, is the capital. The Seychelles are already an importanttourist attraction, but will become evenmore so once the seven newly created man-made islands, comprising in total 352 ha, are fully developed. Five of theseislands are located off the eastern coast ofMahe, one off the coast of Anse Aux Pinsand one on Praslin Island. Each island iscreated by constructing bunds in the sea,which then are filled in. This methodminimises the impact on the environment.The first island to be developed is EdenIsland, some 48 ha large. It will include a 5 star 150 room hotel, luxury apartmentsand villas, an up-market shopping mall, anda marina. Eventually it should have some8000 residents. Construction of phase 1 of Eden Island started in the last months of 2004.

Pearl of the Gulf:

What is a grand man-made

island without a vast marina?

Reclaimed islands off the

eastern coast of Mahe Island,

where the capital Victoria is

located.


Penny’s Bay and Laguna Gamagori,theme parks on new land

Yet another gigantic reclamation projecttook place in Hong Kong: some 200 ha ofnew land were reclaimed from the sea inPenny’s Bay to accommodate the buildingof a new Disney theme park. The workinvolved the removal of over 42 million m3

of unsuitable soil, 50,000 m3 of which werecontaminated, and the supply of some70 million m3 of sand for the reclamation.Moreover, a sea wall of 2 km long was builtand 2 km of access road. The project wasexecuted under the strictest environmentalsupervision. Water and air quality weremeasured daily, noise levels were limited,local wildlife and coral were closelymonitored. Both soil removal and sanddeposits took place within a 4 km siltscreen surrounding the site. In 2002 thereclaimed land was handed over to the nextset of engineers to start constructing theamusement park. Theme parks are also popular in Japan.Once upon a time Gamagori City, locatedbetween Tokyo and Kyoto on Honshu’ssouthern coast, along Atsumi Bay, used tobe a sleepy sea resort. That was until landreclamation started for an enormous newrecreation area. Nowadays Gamagori isknown for its marine theme park,Lagunasia, at the newly created LagoonGamagori. Lagunasia is famed for itsthalasso therapy, for its many different poolsand high water slides, for its amusementpark and its museums. Reclaiming LagunaGamagori involved the moving of 3 million m3

of soil. The reclamation project wascompleted in 1999.

Panorama view of Hong Kong’s Penny Bay on Lantau Island.

Newly created Japan’s Gamagori Lagoon seen from above,

with marina and marine theme park.

The poles sticking up from the sand, in the upper part of the photo, are vertical drain installation rigs

which help to speed up the soil consolidation of the new land.


Welcome to Lulu Island, Bahrain

In the last decade Bahrain has become afavorite for visitors from all over the world,some 5 million of them every year. The development of Lulu Island in front ofthe coast of Manama, Bahrain’s capital hada first phase in 1990. The new phase that is ongoing, called the Lulu Abraj project,involves land reclamation, to be completedend 2006, and will eventually encompassthe building of a grand hotel, spa, marina,convention center, aquarium, apartmentbuildings and villas.

An early stage of the

ongoing Lulu Abraj project

in 2004.

View of the results of the first phase of the Lulu Island project, in 1990.

100th!

PEOPLE MAKE IT POSSIBLE

You’ve come to the last page of an overview of the last forty years

of dredging and maritime infrastructure construction. The sheer

quantity of projects that have been realised in four decades is slightly

overwhelming. As is the magnitude of the projects and how they

have changed the world. But even more overwhelming is that each of

these projects represents the hard work of hundreds if not thousands

of people: engineers, dredging masters and their crews, project

managers, scientists, researchers, specialists in all areas of maritime

construction. They comprise local people who have been employed

and trained on site by the IADC member companies. And our own

staffs who, sometimes at the drop of a hat, are deployed all over the

world. Each project reflects the expertise, enthusiasm, imagination,

and professionalism they bring with them; even more so, each

demonstrates the adventurous spirit of these individuals who travel

wherever they are needed to do their jobs. They are the ones who

make a difference: in creating jobs for others, in improving living

circumstances, in providing clean water and better economic

opportunities. They are the ones who working together have changed

the world. To all those colleagues in the industry, we say thank you.

This special issue of Terra et Aqua was based on the research and

creative efforts of many people working many hours. To everyone

who dug through their archives and supplied the photographs,

who provided the background descriptions, and the enthusiastic

stories behind the photographs, to all of you who have contributed

time and energy, we say thank you as well.

AQUATERRAET


International Association of Dredging Companies

COVER

An aerial view of downtown Hong Kong. Part of the burst of activities in the 1990s in Hong Kong was the expansion

of the Central Business area. Land reclamation extended the waterfront, breathing new life into an enlarged Central

Business District.

IADC

Constantijn Dolmans, Secretary General

Alexanderveld 84

2585 DB The Hague

Mailing adress:

P.O. Box 80521

2508 GM The Hague

The Netherlands

T +31 (70) 352 3334

F +31 (70) 351 2654

E [email protected]

I www.iadc-dredging.com

Editors

Marsha R. Cohen

Hans W.J. Poiesz

Editorial Advisory Committee

R.T. Berends, Chairman

C.P.I.M. Dolmans

H.A.J. Fiers

A.G.M. Groothuizen

P.G. Roland

H. Schellinck

R. Vidal Martin

H. De Vlieger

IADC Board of Directors

R. van Gelder, President

Y. Kakimoto, Vice President

C. van Meerbeeck, Treasurer

M. Montevecchi

P.G. Roland

G. Vandewalle

MEMBERSHIP LIST IADC 2005Through their regional branches or through representatives, members of IADC operate directly at all locations worldwide.

AFRICA

Nigerian Westminster Dredging and Marine Ltd., Lagos, Nigeria

Van Oord Nigeria Ltd, Ikeja-Lagos, Nigeria

THE AMERICAS

Ballast Ham Dredging do Brazil Ltda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Dragamex SA de CV, Coatzacoalcos, Mexico

Van Oord ACZ bv, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Van Oord Curaçao nv, Willemstad, Curaçao

ASIA

Ballast Ham Dredging India Private Ltd., Mumbai, India

Dredging International Asia Pacific (Pte) Ltd., Singapore

Far East Dredging Ltd. Hong Kong, China

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., Seoul, Korea

Jan De Nul (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Singapore

Penta-Ocean, Tokyo, Japan

Toa Corporation, Tokyo, Japan

Van Oord ACZ Marine Contractors bv, Shanghai, China

Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors Philippines Branch,

Manilla, Philippines

Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors bv Singapore Branch,

Singapore

Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors B.V. Korea Branch,

Busan, Republic of Korea

Van Oord Hong Kong Branch, Hong Kong, China

Van Oord (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Selangor, Malaysia

AUSTRALIA

Dredeco Pty. Ltd., Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd., Brisbane, QLD, Australia

MIDDLE EAST

Boskalis Westminster M.E. Ltd., Abu Dhabi, UAE

Gulf Cobla (Limited Liability Company), Dubai, UAE

Jan De Nul Dredging, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Jan De Nul Dredging Ltd. (Dubai Branch), Dubai, UAE

Van Oord Gulf FZE, Dubai, UAE

EUROPE

Aanemingsbedrijf L. Paans & Zonen bv, Gorinchem,

Netherlands

Atlantique Dragage S.A., Nanterre, France

Baggermaatschappij Boskalis B.V., Papendrecht,

Netherlands

Baltic Marine Contractors SIA, Riga, Latvia

Boskalis B.V., Rotterdam, Netherlands

Boskalis International B.V., Papendrecht, Netherlands

Boskalis Westminster Dredging & Contracting Ltd., Cyprus

Brewaba Wasserbaugesellschaft Bremen mbH, Bremen,

Germany

C.E.I. Construct nv, Zele, Belgium

DRACE, Madrid, Spain

Dravo S.A. – Italia, Amelia (TR), Italy

Dravo S.A., Lisbon, Portugal

Dravo S.A., Madrid, Spain

Dredging International N.V., Zwijndrecht, Belgium

Dredging International (UK) Ltd., Weybridge, UK

Heinrich Hirdes G.m.b.H., Hamburg, Germany

Jan De Nul Dredging nv, Aalst, Belgium

Jan De Nul nv, Aalst, Belgium

Jan De Nul (U.K.) Ltd., Ascot, UK

Mijnster zand- en grinthandel bv, Gorinchem, Netherlands

N.V. Baggerwerken Decloedt & Zoon, Oostende, Belgium

Sociedade Española de Dragados S.A., Madrid, Spain

Sodranord SARL, Le Blanc-Mesnil Cédex, France

Terramare Oy, Helsinki, Finland

Tideway B.V., Breda, Netherlands

TOA (LUX) S.A., Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Van Oord Nederland bv, Gorinchem, Netherlands

Van Oord nv, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Van Oord Offshore bv, Gorinchem, Netherlands

Van Oord UK Ltd., Newbury, UK

Westminster Dredging Co. Ltd., Fareham, UK

Terra et Aqua is published quarterly by the IADC, The International Association of

Dredging Companies. The journal is available on request to individuals or organisations

with a professional interest in the development of ports and waterways, and in

particular, the associated dredging work. The name Terra et Aqua is a registered

trademark.

Please address enquiries to the editor. Articles in Terra et Aqua do not necessarily

reflect the opinion of the IADC Board or of individual members.

© 2005 IADC, The Netherlands

All rights reserved. Electronic storage, reprinting or abstracting of the contents is

allowed for non-commercial purposes with permission of the publisher.

ISSN 0376-6411

€ 10,- softcover, € 15,- hardcover.

Typesetting and printing by Opmeer Drukkerij bv, The Hague, The Netherlands.

TERRAETAQUAMaritime Solutions for a Changing World

100th!Number 100 | September 2005International Association of Dredging Companies

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