DEME Wins Elbe Deepening Contract

DEME, an international group of specialized companies involved in complex marine engineering works, has won a major contract to carry out the deepening of the Elbe fairway in Germany.

The Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group said that its German subsidiary Nordsee Nassbagger- und Tiefbau GmbH, based in Bremen, has acquired the maintenance dredging contract on the River Elbe in Germany.

The contract has been awarded to a joint venture, including DEME’s German subsidiary, for a period of two years. DEME will maintain the whole 116 km long fairway of the Elbe between the North Sea and Hamburg.

The TSHD ‘Marieke’ will be deployed on the maintenance works as soon as the vessel has finalised the reclamation works for the port expansion in Cuxhaven on the Elbe.

As Nordsee Nassbagger- und Tiefbau is also executing the 2-year maintenance dredging contract on the River Weser, ensuring the navigational depth to the port of Bremerhaven, DEME is now maintaining the fairways towards the two biggest container ports in Germany. These two maintenance dredging contracts confirm Nordsee Nasbagger- und Tiefbau’s leading position in the German dredging industry.

Recently DEME also acquired several new contracts in France in the ports of Calais, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Brest and Bordeaux. In the ports of Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer DEME’s French subsidiary, Société de Dragage International (SDI), will execute maintenance dredging works.

In the port of Brest SDI will participate in the building of a new 400 m quay wall and a 100 m wide platform as part of a new terminal for heavy loads. In Bordeaux a water injection dredging campaign will be executed on the Gironde river, required to maintain access to the port.

In the United Kingdom, DEME’s UK subsidiary NewWaves Solutions Ltd was awarded the contract for the dredging and beach recharge works at Dawlish Warren (Cornwall).

In Spain DEME has secured a contract for dredging works in the port of Barcelona for the construction of a new quay wall. Works will start in May 2017.

The total value of these contracts amounts to EUR 115 million.

DEME has a strong geographical presence in Europe and deploys a versatile fleet and innovative techniques to offer sustainable dredging solutions to customers across the region. In 2017 two dual fuel hoppers, ‘Minerva’ and ‘Scheldt River’, will join the fleet designed specifically for operations in European waters.

With continued investments in energy efficient, clean and innovative vessels , DEME confirms its commitment to the strictest environmental and quality standards of customers across Europe.