Queen Máxima christens Van Oord's TSHD Vox Amalia

Her Majesty Queen Máxima performed the christening ceremony for Van Oord's trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Amalia in Rotterdam this afternoon in presence of 1,400 employees and guests. This was also the final event in the celebrations marking Van Oord's 150th anniversary in 2018, Van Oord reports.

The vessel was moored along Wilhelminakade next to the Cruise Terminal in Rotterdam for this special event. After the christening ceremony, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch DJ duo Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano gave a spectacular musical performance. Her Majesty Queen Máxima toured the Vox Amalia and met its crew. She also spoke to the engineers who supervised the vessel’s construction and to a group of youngsters representing Generation Z, the offspring of employees and shareholders, who shared their ideas about a sustainable future.

150th anniversary
On Saturday 15 December, employees and their family members will have the opportunity to visit the vessel. Van Oord celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2018 with various activities, including the christening of subsea rock installation vessel Bravenes in May and an international symposium in the Laurenskerk in November. During the symposium, the company was awarded the Royal designation.

Vox Amalia
A trailing suction hopper dredger has large, powerful pumps and engines that enable it to dredge sand, clay, sludge and even gravel from sea or river beds. The Vox Amalia is 158 metres long, 36 metres wide and has a hopper capacity of 18,000 cubic meters. It was built in Spain under Van Oord’s supervision. After the christening ceremony, the vessel will undergo trials in the Netherlands and then be deployed on dredging projects worldwide.