Construction and maintenance of ports

Boskalis has extensive experience constructing and maintaining ports and waterways worldwide. Our activities include dredging port access channels, inner channels, turning basins and mooring berths and constructing breakwaters utilizing our versatile fleet of trailing suction hopper dredgers, cutter suction dredgers and backhoes. Where additional land is needed for port development, we reclaim harbor islands and land for yards and terminals. In addition, we construct quay walls and offer soil improvement by compacting and vertical/horizontal drainage.

Bringing your project to a safe haven

Constructing ports involves a lot more than just hydraulic engineering. We also conduct detailed technical and financial feasibility studies for each project, and can assess and monitor your project’s environmental impact and by applying our building with nature techniques even assist in overcoming environmental concerns. We can take care of ongoing maintenance, which can also be taken into account during the construction process. In this way we bring even the most complex project to a safe haven.

Project highlights

Creating Gorgon

In 2009, Boskalis was awarded a contract on the Chevron-operated Gorgon Project, one of the largest and most complex contracts to be undertaken in our history. Our scope of work included the design and construction of some of the port facilities at Barrow Island.

Duqm port construction

This extraordinary EPC project we dredged a new harbor basin and entrance channel with a depth of 18 meters, constructed a kilometer-long quay wall, two 400 meter-long jetties and reclaimed land for a port platform including ground improvement and associated 4 km shore protection.

Co-creation in Brazil

From 2011-15, Boskalis was involved in the construction of one of Latin America’s largest port-industry complexes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Boskalis dredged two huge access channels, a turning basin, an inner channel, mooring berths and constructed revetments for the breakwater and over 13 km of access roads.

Trailing suction hopper dredger

Trailing suction hopper dredgers can fill their own holds (hoppers) by sucking material from the seabed using a trailing suction head fitted to pipes that trail over the bed as the ship sails.

Cutter section dredger

Dredging with a cutter suction dredger takes place while the vessel is moored with spuds or anchors and consists of powerful cutting action combined with suction.

Backhoe dredger

A backhoe dredger (BHD) is a hydraulic excavator installed on a pontoon. Dredging is executed by the excavator which is mounted on a turntable at the front of the pontoon. The backhoe dredger is mainly used for dredging in shallow or confined waters.