Jan De Nul's trailing suction hopper dredger Vasco da Gama has begun works on the Zone Five Bypass Channel at the Port of Port Hedland in Western Australia.
The channel will provide a route around the part of the port's 42-kilometre shipping channel in Zone Five where the edge is steeper. East of the existing shipping lane, it will offer an alternative for vessel transit at reduced capacity if a grounding occurs in the main channel.
Pilbara Ports awarded the dredging contract to Jan De Nul Australia in June 2026. At the time, the port authority forecast a September start.
Western Australia's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has described the dredging as a five-week activity.
"Some of the largest ships in the world transit the channel, operating within tightly constrained tidal windows and moving in convoy," the Government of Western Australia said. "The bypass channel will complement existing passing lanes and refuge areas."
The project involves dredging up to 800,000 cubic metres of seabed material across a total disturbance area of 162 hectares, of which 63 hectares lie in state waters.
The dredged material will be disposed of at an approved spoil ground in port waters.
On May 11, the EPA decided that the state waters component would not undergo formal assessment. Loading and transport of the dredged material are instead regulated under a government sea dumping permit.
