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River Scheldt News

18 Dec 2019

Keppel Delivers TSHD Sanderus to Jan De Nul

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) delivered the 6000m3 Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) Sanderus to Jan De Nul Group.The Ultra-Low Emission vessel (ULEv) is the fourth dredger that Keppel O&M has delivered to Jan De Nul Group.According to a press release from the shipbuilder, this follows the delivery of three 3500m3 TSHDs earlier this year, all ULEvs and the world's first European Union (EU) Stage V dredgers. Keppel O&M is also currently building Ortelius, a 6000m3 dredger which is identical to the Sanderus, for Jan De Nul Group, with delivery expected in 1Q 2020.Sanderus is fitted with a two-stage filtering technique for exhaust gases.

05 Dec 2019

Jan De Nul Cuts CO2 in Dredging Work

Jan De Nul Group, the international  dredging company, said that the maintenance dredging works in the marinas of Nieuwpoort on the Belgian coast got underway.“What makes this project so unique, are the CO2-reducing measures taken by Jan De Nul Group. An example for the industry and future dredging works in Europe,” said a press release from the company. "Its an example for the industry and future dredging works in Europe."The maintenance dredging works in Nieuwpoort entail the dredging works in the port access channel and in the marinas. A large part of the dredging works are executed by means of the Cutter Suction Dredger Hendrik Geeraert and the split hopper barges Magellano and Verrazzano.Earlier this year, Jan De Nul Group announced its commitment to emit 15% less CO2 on this project.

10 Sep 2019

Multraship, Novatug Name 2 CRTs

Netherlands-based towage and salvage provider, Multraship, has held the christening ceremony for two new Novatug Carrousel Rave tug (CRTs) at Rotterdam.Multratug 32 was christened by Mrs Muller-Ribbens and Multratug 33 by The Netherlands Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Honourable Coravan Nieuwenhuizen.The CRTs offer radical improvements in safety and operational efficiency and will help with the optimization of port usage. The CRTs are able to work with seagoing vessels at much higher speeds than conventional tugs without the risk of capsizing under a tow-load.The sister vessels were delivered in 2018 by Netherlands shipyard Damen Maaskant.

14 Aug 2017

Antwerp Port Blocked as Boxship Runs Aground

Traffic to and from Antwerp, Europe's second-biggest port, was halted on Monday after a container ship ran aground on the banks of the river Scheldt which connects the port to the North Sea.   A spokeswoman said workers were trying to tow the 366-metre CSCL Jupiter away but could not say when this would be completed.   "We're heading for low tide in the coming hours, that does not make things easier," the spokeswoman said.   Covering a space of 20,000 football fields, the port of Antwerp is the 15th largest container port in the world and handles 214 million tonnes of maritime freight each year.   Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek

18 Apr 2017

Hydrex to Expand Antwerp Facility

Antwerp Port Authority has supported Hydrex Underwater Technologies’ plan to expand  (Photo: Hydrex)

Antwerp Port Authority has supported Hydrex Underwater Technologies’ plan to expand its existing 5000m² site on Asiadok on the River Scheldt with new workshops and offices. As part of its expansion, the result of organic growth over the past two years, Hydrex has also refurbished its dive support workboats and increased its manpower by 25 percent to strengthen its diver-technician capability. Hydrex Chairman Boud Van Rompay said, “The new facility together with our recent recruitment drive is consequent of market demand for swift and cost-effective underwater hull and running gear care.

18 Dec 2015

Double Record set by Antwerp Port

The port of Antwerp is on course to handle more than 200 million tonnes of freight this year for the first time ever. And in container transhipment too a new record has been set, with more than 9 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units, i.e. standard containers) being handled. In comparison with last year nearly 8% more containers will be transhipped. With these growth figures Antwerp is performing significantly better than Rotterdam and Hamburg, the number 1 and 3 ports respectively in North-West Europe. The port of Antwerp has a particularly rich history. Ever since the Middle Ages ships laden with cargo and passengers have found their way up the river Scheldt to Antwerp.

13 Oct 2015

The International Salvage Union Weighs In

Current issues in marine salvage: the ISU perspective. There have undoubtedly been great improvements in ship and operational safety in the past decades. SOLAS, the international Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, has been in force for more than 30 years and has played a large part reducing the incidence of marine casualty. But accidents and incidents cannot be entirely eradicated and the potential for marine casualty – and pollution – remains present in all territories.

11 Mar 2015

New Hybrid Tug Joins Multraship Fleet

Photo: maritimephoto.com

Dutch towage and salvage specialist Multraship has welcomed into its fleet Multratug 28, an energy efficient hybrid Damen ASD 2810-type tug with FiFi 1 firefighting capabilities. Damen’s ASD 2810 Hybrid is a new design, and this is the second of its class to be built. Featuring diesel-direct, diesel-electric and battery-powered propulsion systems, this hybrid configuration will enable Multraship to lower fuel costs by up to 30 percent and emissions by up to 60 percent, the company said.

05 Jun 2014

Antwerp fireboat on the Western Scheldt

Antwerp Port Authority had signed an agreement with Zeeland Safety Region to finance a fireboat on the Dutch part of the Western Scheldt. After flowing through Belgium the river Scheldt passes into Dutch territory where it becomes the Scheldt estuary or “Western Scheldt,” bordering the Dutch province of Zeeland. The recent agreement, which is actually a renewal of the covenant signed in 2010, provides for the further financing of a third firefighting boat in the eastern part of the Western Scheldt. Antwerp Port Authority will contribute 150,000 euros towards making the vessel available along with the operating costs. The boat financed by Antwerp Port Authority will be berthed in the Berendrecht-Zandvliet channel and will operate in the area between the Belgian-Dutch border and Hansweert.

25 Jun 2013

Creditors to Pursue ARA Vessel Arrests as Bankruptcies Escalate

Rotterdam-based law firm AKD says that creditors of ailing shipping groups such as STX Pan Ocean of South Korea, and TMT of Taiwan, could seek to take advantage of prevailing bankruptcy laws to enforce vessel arrests and other attachments in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region. Haco van der Houven van Oordt, a partner with the shipping and offshore team at AKD in Rotterdam, said, “The recent reports of bankruptcies and voluntary liquidation proceedings involving shipping companies have now reached levels which exceed any in recent memory. STX Pan Ocean, South Korea’s largest dry bulk operator, has reportedly obtained bankruptcy…

19 Apr 2013

Multraship Orders Two Damen ASD 2810 Tugboats

Signing ceremony: Photo credit Multraship

Multraship confirms its purchase of the two tugs now being constructed in Romania for delivery in June/July 2013. Contracts for the two tugs, to be named Multratug 26 and Multratug 27, were signed during the course of Multraship’s recent annual client gathering in Terneuzen. Multraship managing director Leendert Muller said, “The new tugs will be mostly engaged in harbour towage activities in the Zeeland Seaports and Antwerp areas. In addition to their primary duties, they will also be on standby…

16 Aug 2011

AKD: Chapter 11 Protection is Not Enforceable in The Netherlands

Netherlands law firm AKD says that, while beleaguered shipowners may be looking increasingly to Chapter 11 filings in the United States to protect their financial interests, the fact is that Chapter 11 does not enjoy the force of law throughout the world, and certainly not in The Netherlands. Haco van der Houven van Oordt, head of the shipping & offshore team at AKD’s headquarters in Rotterdam, says, “Nobody – and that includes the banks - wants to see shipping companies forced out of business. On the other hand, one cannot expect the banks to forgo the opportunity to ring-fence their losses in cases where they deem this to be the most propitious course of action.

07 Mar 2011

Multraship Utilises Floating Sheerlegs To Salvage Fishing Trawler Off Dunkirk

LEADING towage and salvage specialist Multraship has salvaged the fishing trawler Nieuwpoort 28 (N28) which capsized off Dunkirk on March 1, using its recently upgraded floating sheerlegs Cormorant to successfully complete a challenging operation. The trawler capsized twenty miles off the French/Belgian coast. It was upside-down in the water and the French and Belgian Coastguards mobilised a Search & Rescue operation during which Navy divers searched the vessel but were unable to find any of the trawler’s three crew members – two brothers and their brother-in-law…

09 Feb 2011

Multraship Christens Two Latest Tugs

Photo courtesy Multraship B.V.

Towage and salvage specialist Multraship christened its two newest Azimuth stern-drive multipurpose tugs in a special ceremony at the Portaal van Vlaanderen in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, on February 4, 2011. Joan Nuijten-Muller of Multraship performed the christening ceremony on Multratug 18, which was delivered in 2009 by the Vega Shipyard in Bandirma, Turkey. Multratug 18 is 117.1 ft loa, with a moulded beam of 37.7 ft, and is designed for a multi-role capability for harbour, escort and sea towage as well as fire-fighting and salvage roles.

30 Sep 2010

Multraship Takes Delivery of New Damen Tug

Photo courtesy Merlin Company

Towage and salvage specialist Multraship has bolstered its fleet of specialised tugs and multi-purpose vessels with the addition of the Damen newbuilding ASD 3213 tug Multratug 3. On September 30, the vessel will embark on its delivery voyage from Vietnam, where it was built by Damen Shipyards, to Terneuzen, Multraship’s home port in The Netherlands. Thereafter it will be employed principally in the River Scheldt area in a harbour towage and salvage role. With a maximum bollard pull of 94.7 tonnes…

29 Oct 2008

Grounded Containership Rescued

The 2006-built vessel grounded after suffering rudder failure near Ossenisse on the River Scheldt, between Hansweert and , during ebb tide. Working under a Lloyd’s Open Form agreement, Multraship and URS immediately mobilized an experienced salvage team and six tugs. The salvors tried to refloat the vessel on the same tide, but the water level had fallen too far and the operation had to wait for the next tide, at around midnight. Because the vessel had hazardous cargo on board…

04 Mar 2004

Ultraship completes VEBO takeover

Multraship Towage & Salvage has acquired a majority share in VEBO BV, the holding company of Verenigde Bootlieden BV and Vebocab BV, the leading boatman/mooring service provider in the port of Terneuzen. The takeover will have no adverse consequences for the 38 employees of VEBO, which specialises in the mooring and unmooring of vessels and in the provision of helmsmen services and taxi and waterborne transportation services. Multraship, which specialises in towage & salvage services, sees the takeover as a logical addition to, and expansion of, its services to the maritime community in the Zeeland Seaports area and on the River Scheldt. For Verenigde Bootlieden, the takeover represents a guarantee of its long-term survival.

29 Jul 2002

SMIT Salvage Team Responds in S. Africa and Venezuela

SMIT Salvage has been busy responding and providing emergency pollution prevention services to casualties off the South African coast and in the Orinoco River. SMIT is currently assisting the products carrier Nino and the general cargo vessel TMP Sagitarius. Both vessels went aground on rocks off the coast of East London, between Durban and Port Elizabeth, on July 18 within hours of each other. During June, SMIT was awarded three LOF contracts involving a grounding in Venezuela and two casualties with engine problems off the South African coast. On June 22, the 39,607 dwt Grigoroussa 1 dragged her anchors in the Orinoco River, Puerto Ordaz. The 1976-built vessel was nearly fully laden, carrying 35,000 tonnes of coal upriver.

21 Jun 2007

Multraship Expands Tug Fleet

Multraship has bought two newbuilding Azimuth Stern Drive tugs for delivery October 2007 and April 2008. The two multi-purpose tugs will be rated around 70 tonne bollard pull and are currently under construction at the Vega Denizcilik Sanayi Ve Tic. Ltd. Sti shipyard in Turkey. “Demand for reliable towage services in the North Sea is strong and we are pleased that we will be able to expand our fleet of modern tugs by buying these two new vessels for early delivery,” says Leendert Muller, managing director of Multraship. “We also have two Carrousel tugs building for us in Malaysia, set for 2008/9 delivery, which will together with these two new multi purpose vessels give our River Scheldt-based fleet a substantial boost to capacity.

16 Apr 2007

Salvors Refloat Grounded Vessels in Scheldt

Salvage and towage companies Multraship and URS have successfully refloated two grounded vessels in the past week in the River Scheldt. On April 10, the Swedish-flag RoRo car carrier Grande Argentina ran aground off Terneuzen. The vessel, operated by Grimaldi Lines, was enroute from Antwerp when it suffered a complete black-out, ironically within view of Multraship’s headquarters in Terneuzen. Having swung hard to starboard, the vessel grounded on a sandbank. Working together, salvage teams from Multraship and URS mobilised a total of nine tugs and salvage craft to refloat the vessel in a quick and efficient operation. The salvors then escorted the vessel to Flushing, where an inspection revealed no structural damage, and the Grande Argentina was cleared to proceed with its voyage.

08 Dec 2006

Salvors Complete Scheldt Double Salvage Op

Salvage and towage company Multraship, working with Antwerp-based URS Salvage & Maritime Contracting, has completed two salvage operations in the River Scheldt over a period of fewer than 24 hours. The 12,600 dwt Egyptian multipurpose vessel Aburdees, loaded with general cargo, containers and cars enroute from Bremen to Antwerp, suffered an engine black-out at 1630hrs on December 6. It tried to drop anchor but began drifting in the Oostgat, near Vlissingen, and eventually started to ground in low water. Multraship and co-contractor URS, working under an LOF agreement, deployed the tugs Multrasalvor and Schouwenbank, but were unable to arrest the grounding.

29 Jun 2006

Multraship Announces Fleet Additions

Salvage and towage company, Multraship BV has added the former Red Funnel/Adsteam tug Hamtun to its fleet. The 1985-built, 3,500 IHP vessel has been renamed Multratug 16 and will mainly be deployed providing harbour towage services in the ports of Terneuzen and Flushing and on the Terneuzen-Ghent Canal. Multraship has also bought the former Dutch lifeboat Johannes Frederik, to operate as a fast-rescue tender providing emergency response services in the River Scheldt area. The vessel, now renamed Multraship Responder, will replace the Multrajet, which has been sold to the Congolese Ministry of Health.

24 Feb 2003

Multraship Refloats Stranded Bulk Carrier

river. the Scheldt," says Leendert Muller, director of Multraship. response of Multraship's salvage team, a major casualty was avoided. Scheldt at 17.30 local time on Friday 21 February 2003. with 60,000 tonnes of coking coal. immediately to the location which was in the vicinity of buoy 49. communication vessel Patrol. the bank at 18.40 local time. The vessel was then safely anchored. was released after a dive inspection team revealed no damage. vessel quickly enough," says Muller. vessel grounded. The incident had the potential to cause many problems.

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