To main content

Cleanup, Ketelmeer

Ketelmeer, a lake in the Netherlands with a length of some 10 kilometers and a width varying from two to three kilometers, separates the North Eastern and Southern Polders constructed during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is a major example of the problem of 'historic pollution'. Lake Ketelmeer receives the waters of the Rijn and IJssel and over a period of three or more decades, tens of millions of cubic meters of highly contaminated sediments entered Ketelmeer from hundreds of upstream locations. The bottom was covered by polluted sediments to an average depth of 50 cm. A significant proportion of this material had to be removed, or capped by the cleaner sediments of recent years, if a normal aquatic environment was to be restored.

The strategy for Ketelmeer was based on selective removal, in areas such as the main shipping channels, together with the construction of a permanent and fully isolated repository for contaminated dredged material. This facility, the IJsseloog, will serve both Ketelmeer and the entire northern region of The Netherlands and has a capacity of 23 million m3. When the facility is full, it is likely to be capped and developed as a recreational area within a rejuvenated Ketelmeer. This new island, with its adjacent wetland habitats, has the potential to become a significant nature reserve in its own right. The Boskalis system deployed at Ketelmeer had a capacity of 500 cu m/hr and had the ability to strip very thin layers (0.05 m to 0.60 m). The system featured on an environmental disc cutter (a horizontal rotating disc) with a visor on the dredge side. Boskalis contributed to two key objectives. The first was to achieve a significant reduction in the re-suspension of sediments, due to vessel traffic in the main channels and movements in the many small harbors around Ketelmeer. The second was to deepen the shipping channel from the IJssel to Lake IJsselmeer.

Related projects

Selected filters
Marker_Wadden_spread_def_1920.jpg

Construction of
Marker Wadden

Boskalis has been awarded the first phase of the Marker Wadden development in the Netherlands. The project includes the construction of an island with underwater landscaping. The Marker Wadden are natural islands that will be developed in the Markermeer lake in the years to come. They will provide a major boost for the ecological quality of the Markermeer lake. The natural shores of the islands will give fish more opportunities to spawn and feed. As a result, large numbers of birds such as terns and waders will return to the area because there will be more food for them. The construction of the Marker Wadden will transform the map of the Netherlands.

Adelaide.png

Outer harbor channel widening, Adelaide.

The Port of Adelaide is the primary port in South Australia, located at Outer Harbor. The port is operated by Flinders Ports Pty Ltd (Flinders Ports) and handles both container and cruise vessels, contributing significantly to the State’s economic activity. Flinders Ports identified the need for an upgrade of the existing infrastructure driven by the emergence of Post Panamax class vessels. To meet this growth the existing channel had to be widened to accommodate vessels with a maximum width of 49 m without operational restrictions. Flinders Ports contracted Boskalis to execute the dredging works.

Medium-FF95893.jpg

Johan Sverdrup, transport.

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. is Equinor’s Fabrication and Transport contractor of the Johan Sverdrup project. Boskalis has been awarded by Samsung as transportation contractor for this project.

DSC_0204_header.jpg

IJsseldelta

The IJsseldelta project is part of the national Room for the River program, which comprises over 30 measures aimed at upgrading the flood defenses in the Dutch river areas. The project involves lowering the summer bed of the Lower IJssel river along a length of 7.5 kilometers near the town of Kampen and creating a bypass to the south of Kampen.

union_bear_and_pricess.jpg

NORDSTREAM II

Allseas Engineering had been awarded with the contract to support partly with construction of the offshore natural gas transmission system comprising two 48” diameter pipelines from Russia to the Baltic through Germany (NPSP2). The installation of the NSP2 pipeline has been performed by Charterers pipelay vessels: Solitaire, Pioneering Spirit and Audacia.

Port expansion, Tuas Mega Port Singapore

Boskalis is part of a consortium that won a contract related to the construction of the Tuas Mega Port in Singapore. After Shanghai, Singapore is not only the world's largest container port, it also handles 50% of global crude oil production and it is the planet's busiest transit port. The port is the economic motor of Singapore, which is constantly struggling with a shortage of land.