Rotterdam dredging enables boxship passage
The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management widened the Maasgeul for this purpose by a good 250m. Sea-going ships with a draught of more than 14.4m can only enter or leave the port of Rotterdam via this navigation channel, Maritime Journal reports.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority expects container throughput to grow in the future but not only container ships will benefit from the widening. The waiting times for other large sea-going ships, such as tankers and bulk carriers, will also be cut.
The widening of the Maasgeul was achieved in six months, with some 350,000 m3 of clay, sand and peat dredged from the sea floor to a depth of 21m. To make the new section of the navigation channel ready for use, rules of use were amended and shipping informed.
The new section of the Maasgeul was also added to nautical charts and a buoy marking the navigation channel was shifted.
