From CEDA – Derk te Bokkel, CEO of Royal IHC, speaks to CEDA Industry News about the major challenges facing the dredging industry. He also gives his thoughts on how to attract talent to the sector and discusses the role CEDA can play in bringing people together from across the dredging ecosystem.
Every edition of SWZ|Maritime features one or two articles supplied by the Central Dredging Association (CEDA). This is one of those articles. It was written by Ed Parshotam of Intent Communications.
What is your company’s mission and vision?
Our overarching mission is to continue to be a leading producer of integrated vessels and equipment for the dredging industry, as well as supporting a number of other sectors, such as offshore, mining and defence. My personal mission is future-proofing the business and ensuring we continue to deliver.
There will be an element of adapting to a changing world and adjusting our business model. One concern is the cost of constructing big, integrated vessels. We’ve traditionally based our yards in the Netherlands, but a sharp rise in costs over the last few years means we need to adapt and be prepared to deliver integrated vessels from lower cost locations, such as our yard in Vietnam.
Also read: Young CEDA: Adaptation is the key to dredging’s future
What do you think are the biggest challenges the dredging industry will face in the next five years?
There are a few noteworthy challenges. One is the fact that this is a cyclical business, so navigating fluctuations when it comes to volume at our yard can be a challenge.
There’s also a significant increase in geopolitical tensions, which could potentially restrict the areas where our clients can operate – not all markets will be free or accessible and this is likely to become an increasing challenge.
Meanwhile, market dynamics are shifting as new entrants begin to disrupt the sector and introduce more intense competition between businesses prioritising operational efficiency and companies taking a low capex approach.
How is your company innovating to meet these challenges and stay ahead?
The best way to respond to a challenge is to remain resolutely focused on your own strengths. That’s what we’re doing – we know from client feedback that we’re good at building reliable, high-efficiency equipment and vessels, so that’s where our focus is. The other area where we’re responding is the competition between low capex businesses and those that invest in boosting efficiency and reducing the cost of their operations.
We’ll continue building complex vessels in Europe with short lead times, but we’ll also respond to the current competition by building lower capex equipment within slightly longer lead times, but with the same quality of integration, in low-cost countries, such as at our yard in Vietnam.
Also read: Royal IHC selects yard in Vietnam to build dredgers
How is your company incorporating sustainable practices into your operations?
The vast majority of our carbon output is scope three emissions, as opposed to emissions caused by our own operations. Almost ninety per cent of our carbon emissions come from steel and equipment suppliers, as well as from our clients through their choice of drive train. It’s difficult to significantly reduce these emissions given they are mostly outside of our control, but one way we can play our part is by providing options to clients.
Regarding the drive train, we’re investing significantly in alternative fuels that can help clients cut their carbon output. Our clients will choose from the options we offer based on a range of factors, including the availability and cost of a given fuel, which means their choice is heavily influenced by regulations and political decisions.
And what fuels do you see as being most popular currently?
There are differences in the performance and availability of certain alternative fuels, which will also shape operators’ decisions. LNG, for example, doesn’t power up as quickly as a diesel engine, which means introducing the cost and complexity of adding a flywheel.
One area of focus for us is responding to increased demand for methanol drive trains by offering this on our work vessels. While there are questions about whether hydrogen can be produced costeffectively at the scale required for producing green methanol, when you consider range, energy density and storage, it technically looks like a more interesting option than many of the alternatives. On the other hand, LNG looks like an economically attractive option in the short term and offers wide availability.
Also read: Derk te Bokkel new CEO of Royal IHC
Why and how is CEDA important for your organisation and to the wider industry?
Royal IHC specialises in dredging vessels, which means CEDA is essentially a meeting point for our entire ecosystem. The events, such as the one I attended in Rotterdam last year, bring people together from all levels, including people with commercial, technical and executive roles.
Outside of CEDA, you’ll typically see people from a technical background meeting each other, or meetings aimed at board members, for example. CEDA plays a really valuable role in bringing all of these people together to facilitate networking across the sector.
What vision do you have for the future of CEDA and the ways in
which it can continue to play an important role in the industry and add value (locally, globally, and so on)? CEDA has an important role to play as the voice of the industry, which I believe will increasingly mean communicating on behalf of our sector in order to influence governments, such as in the area of energy transition alternatives.
On the other hand, CEDA’s existing role as a facilitator – where the industry can meet, exchange information and opinions across the ecosystem and with people from other parts of the world – will continue to be really important.
Also read: US Army seeks new dredging solutions for reservoirs
What are some of the most exciting projects your company is currently working on?
We have a few notable projects on the go, including large dredging hoppers for major operators. We’ve concluded a contract with the US Army through our partner Eastern Shipbuilding Group for a large automated hopper, for which we handled the entire design and provided all dredging equipment.
We’ve also concluded some very interesting contracts for a vessel – and potentially several – that will be used to install optical cables and will be constructed at our yard in Vietnam. We actually have a lot of interest from the market for cable burial equipment, and we’re also working on contracts that will support submarine construction.
What advice would you give to young people interested in a career in the dredging industry?
My background is fairly varied – and I’d say to young people it sometimes pays to follow what you are interested in and pursue roles you think you’ll enjoy, rather than locking yourself into a linear career path from the very beginning. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the world is changing and companies are evolving, which means developing change management skills and learning adaptability can prove valuable.
Also, given that the world is influenced by governments and geopolitical issues, it’s important to remain informed when it comes to developing trends and current affairs. Studying political science could actually leave you very well equipped for a role in the dredging industry.
Picture: Derk te Bokkel, CEO of Royal IHC: ‘We need to be prepared to deliver integrated vessels from lower cost locations’ (photo by Royal IHC).
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