Wilhelmsen Ships Service has secured a contract to provide ships agency services to Van Oord at Maasvlakte 2, the major port expansion project in Rotterdam. Land reclamation in the North Sea and dredging of the port basins will expand the existing port and industrial zone on the west side of Maasvlakte with 1000 hectares new land for port activities and industry.
Up to 14 vessels operated by van Oord will be supporting the project and Wilhelmsen Ships Service will be managing the formalities of co-ordinating with port authorities, customs, immigration and other areas of port liaison. The company will also handle all husbandry issues such as crew changes, and sludge and waste disposals.
The contractor of Maasvlakte 2 is PUMA (Project Organisation for the Expansion of the Maasvlakte), a joint venture between the Dutch dredging and marine contractors Boskalis and Van Oord.
Van Oord’s operating vessels include up to ten trailing suction hopper dredgers working on the land reclamation work, which will transport 210 million m3 of sand from the offshore mining location to the new land along the coast. The joint venture will also deploy cutter suction dredgers to deepen the port basin to -20 metres NAP (Normal Sea Level at Amsterdam), so that even the biggest container ships can dock there. This part of the work will produce 30 million m3 of sand that will also be reused in the project.
The first phase of the Maasvlakte 2 project will be completed in 2013. The port will also see the construction of the onshore infrastructure including quay walls, roads, railways and cycle paths.
(www.wilhelmsen.com/shipsservice)