Boskalis and Van Oord have been awarded a large dredging contract as part of the Malmporten Project in the Port of Luleå, Sweden. The contract has a total value of approximately EUR 500 million, split equally between Boskalis and Van Oord.
The Swedish Maritime Administration and the Port of Luleå awarded the contract to Boskalis and Van Oord.
Luleå, capital of the northern province of Norrbotten, is undergoing a significant green industrial development driven by investments in fossil-free steel and sustainable energy. The ongoing transformation of the port will strengthen its role as a key regional logistics hub supporting this transition.
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Deepening fairway and harbour basin
Under the contract, the joint venture will deepen the port’s fairway and harbour basin, allowing it to accommodate vessels with a draught of up to 14.7 metres and a cargo capacity of up to 85,000 tonnes. This marks a significant increase of nearly two times the current capacity of 45,000 tonnes. This expansion will improve operational efficiency and contribute to lower emissions per tonne of transported cargo.
Project execution is scheduled to commence in the spring of 2027. Activities will take place during the ice-free seasons and will be completed before mid-August 2030. The works involve dredging approximately 14 million cubic metres of material, including sand, silt, clay, moraine soils, boulders and significant quantities of fresh rock. Part of the dredged material will be reused for land reclamation to enable the development of a new deepwater port area.
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Equipment and mitigation measures
A broad range of specialised equipment will be deployed, including trailing suction hopper dredgers, backhoe dredgers, grab dredgers, and drill and blast platforms. Environmental protection is a key focus of the project. Mitigation measures will include the use of silt screens, bubble curtains, environmental buckets, turbidity monitoring and innovative dredging techniques to minimize environmental impact.
Boskalis and Van Oord are familiar with the project area, having carried out preparatory dredging works in Luleå in 2024. These earlier activities involved the removal of approximately 1.5 million cubic metres of sediment, hard moraine soils, and large boulders typical of the northern Gulf of Bothnia.
Picture: Boskalis trailing suction hopper dredger Gateway and backhoe dredger Magnor (photo by Boskalis).
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