A consortium of Van Oord and Boskalis Van Oord has secured the contract for the Harwich Haven approach channel and inner harbour deepening. The contract carries a value of approximately 140 million euros, split fifty-fifty between the two dredging companies.
The contract was awarded by the Harwich Haven Authority. The project entails the deepening of the approach channel and inner harbour from minus 14.5 to minus 16 metres to allow unimpeded access of the latest generation container vessels to Harwich Haven and the Port of Felixstowe.
For this purpose a total of 15 million cubic metres of silt, sand and clay will be dredged by a jumbo trailing suction hopper dredger and a large backhoe dredger. The dredged material will be deposited in a designated area offshore. Specialist equipment will be deployed to remove large boulders from the seabed.
Biofuel
The dredging activities will commence immediately with a project duration of maximum two years. The ships involved in the project The consortium of Van Oord and Boskalis will reduce its CO2 emissions significantly on this project by using a sustainable biofuel.
