Van Oord begins sand suppletion operations on Texel, Ameland and Vlieland

Starting May 7, Van Oord’s trailing suction hopper dredger Geopotes 15 will be replenishing the beaches of the Dutch island of Texel. RWS, the Dutch public works agency, contracted Van Oord in spring 2018 to maintain the coasts of the Wadden Islands Texel, Ameland and Vlieland. Beach replenishment will stabilise the basic coastline and guarantee safety along the coast.

The projects are part of the Netherlands’ Coastline Care programme, intended to reinforce the Dutch coast with regular deposits of sand. The North Sea coast of the Wadden Islands is suffering serious erosion at several locations. New sand helps stabilise the coast and promotes sand accretion. A further advantage is that leisure visitors and tourists can once again enjoy the Wadden Islands’ wide, popular beaches.

Trailing suction hopper dredger Geopotes 15 will be pumping approximately 1 million cubic metres of sand onto Texel’s beaches. It will finish the job before the summer of 2018 so that the beach is ready for the start of the busy tourist season.

The work on Ameland and Vlieland involves both beach replenishment and foreshore suppletion. Van Oord will once again deploy trailing suction hopper dredgers to deposit a total of about 8 million cubic metres of sand. The work will take place between 2018 (Vlieland) and the end of 2020.

Van Oord (Dredging and Marine Contractors) is a Dutch company founded in 1868, which specializes in dredging and land reclamation. The company operates across its 25 branches with the staff of over 4200 employees. It has a fleet of 97 vessels, including trailing suction hopper dredgers, cutter suction dredgers, etc.