Van Oord, Boskalis awarded harbour deepening contract in Harwich, UK

The Harwich Haven Authority in the UK has awarded a consortium formed by Dutch marine contractors Van Oord and Boskalis a contract for deepening the approach channel and the inner harbour of Harwich Haven in Essex.

The contract carries a value of approximately €140 million (US$165.15 million), split 50/50 between Van Oord and Boskalis.

The project entails the deepening of the approach channel and inner harbour from minus 14.5 to minus 16 metres to allow unimpeded access of modern container vessels to Harwich Haven and the Port of Felixstowe. For this purpose a total of 15 million cubic metres of silt, sand, and clay will be dredged by a large trailing suction hopper dredger and a large backhoe dredger.

The dredged material will be deposited in a designated area offshore. Specialist equipment will be deployed to remove large boulders from the seabed.

The dredging activities will commence immediately and will have a maximum duration of two years.