Van Oord publishes its annual report 2011 today.The report can be viewed or downloaded in our Download centre. If you wish to order a hard copy report please fill in the request form.1584Van Oord performed the naming ceremony for its new multicat Cronus. A sister vessel Oceanus was delivered November 2011.The multicats were ordered by Van Oord in November 2010 with Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld (The Netherlands). Their main purpose will be assisting the Athena and Artemis, Van Oord's new, self-propelled cutter suction dredgers. Therefore Van Oord and Damen designed a new, larger multicat.CharacteristicsThe Cronus has a 340 ton-metre fore crane and a 80 ton-metre aft crane. The workboat has an enlarged depth, allowing the working deck to be 1.10 m above the waterline (normally: 80-90 cm). In addition to anchor handling, the multicat will deliver supplies, water and fuel oil.Specifications Length: 32.68 m Breadth: 12.50 m Depth moulded: 4.52 m Installed propulsion power: 1,640 KW Anchor winch: 150 tons1579The innovative large walking jack-up barge, WaveWalker 1, is being developed by Fugro and Van Oord to move and operate in rough seas, surf zones, beaches and other intertidal locations.The two companies are working together on the design, construction and operation of the jack-up which is set to begin operating in the field later in 2012 on drilling and blasting works for the Brazilian Suape Outer Channel, a contract recently won by Van Oord. WaveWalker is an innovative jack-up that can be operated in conventional 4-legged mode, or as an 8‑legged self-contained walking jack-up platform, capable of safely operating and bi-directional movement whilst elevated. Undertaking geotechnical site investigations, drilling and other underwater activity from a stable platform with the added benefit of relocation without floating will reduce the impact of sea conditions on the operational hours required for the Brazilian operations and other harsh coastal zones. On 4 April 2012 the keel was laid and assembly of the different sections is in full progress. Further information from info@fugroseacore.com1577Van Oord and Besix have been awarded a contract to widen Rotterdam’s Amazonehaven seaport. The project involves design and construct. Widening the seaport will make vessel traffic control safer and more efficient. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} The works will involve constructing a 1000 m quay wall, demolishing a 950 m quay wall, carrying out earthworks, installing a sinking mattress, and covering it with a top layer of rock. Van Oord will excavate 1,000,000 m3 of material, most of which will be re-used in the project. The remaining material will be marketed. Van Oord will be deploying a suction dredger, crane ships, and dry earth-moving equipment. The preparations have already started and the project should be completed by March 2014. The client is the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the contract value for the joint venture is around EUR 40 million.1565On Thursday 2 February 2012, Van Oord renewed the contract for the Aeolus, an offshore wind turbine transport and installation vessel.By renewing the contract, Van Oord has guaranteed that the Sietas Shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, will proceed with construction. Measuring 139 m in length, 38 m in the beam, and with a design draught of 5.7 m, the Aeolus will be outfitted with a crane capable of lifting 900 tonnes. In accordance with the contract, the vessel will be ready in the first quarter of 2013.Van Oord is also retaining its option on the construction of a second installation vessel.1563Van Oord has been awarded the EPC contract for the installation of a Single Point Mooring (SPM) system in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.The client is Fujairah Asia Power Company and the contract value amounts to approximately EUR 30 million. Work will start immediately and continue until the end of February 2013. The project includes the design, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the SPM and 3 km subsea pipeline, which will provide a new back-up fuel system to the client's Power and Desalination Plant.   For the execution of the work, Van Oord will deploy a variety of equipment including trailer suction hopper dredgers, a backhoe dredger and pull-barge.1554Rotterdam’s new harbour, Maasvlakte 2, is now protected against the severest of storms and wave attacks. On Monday 30 January, Rotterdam municipal executive councillor Jeannette Baljeu (Port, Transport and Regional Economy) laid the last block in the dam forming the hard sea wall of Maasvlakte 2. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} The dam is made up of 19,558 concrete blocks, each weighing in at over 40,000 kg. The blocks have come from the sea wall of the existing Maasvlakte. In order to move them, PUMA, the consortium of which Van Oord is a member, ordered a special crane to be developed: the Blockbuster. Since April 2011, the Blockbuster has been working day and night to place the concrete cubes (2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 m) in the dam to an accuracy of 15 cm. The Blockbuster will still be working on the hard sea wall for a month after today, laying the heavy armour stone. PUMA expects to hand over the complete hard sea wall to Rotterdam Port Authority this spring, so the construction work on Maasvlakte 2 is still strictly on schedule.1553Van Oord performed the naming ceremony for its new Multi Cat Oceanus. A sister vessel Cronus is to be delivered April 2012.The Multi Cats were ordered by Van Oord in November 2010 with Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld (The Netherlands). Their main purpose will be assisting the Athena and Artemis, Van Oord's new, self-propelled cutter suction dredgers. Therefore Van Oord and Damen designed a new, larger Multi Cat. CharacteristicsAs Athena has heavy anchors, the Oceanus has a 340 ton-metre fore crane and a 80 ton-metre aft crane. The workboat has an enlarged depth, allowing the working deck to be 1.10 m above the waterline (normally: 80-90 cm). In addition to anchor handling, the Multi Cat will deliver supplies, water and fuel oil. SpecificationsLength: 32.68 mBreadth: 13.40 mDepth moulded: 4.52 mInstalled propulsion power: 1,640 KWAnchor winch: 150 tons     1517After some successful trials cutter suction dredger Athena was handed over to Van Oord end November. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} On her way to Mombassa, Kenya she is operational in the port of Molhe de Sines, Portugal for a few weeks. The ship functions as desired. A second self-propelled cutter suction dredger named Artemis is under construction. The vessel will be operational mid 2013.1515Joop Atsma, the State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment, wishes to examine whether there are more locations along the Dutch coast where greater safety and new land can be created using the Sand Motor technology. He expressed this desire today at the handover of the new peninsula between Kijkduin and Ter Heijde. ‘‘This technology offers huge opportunities. We have created a piece of land in four months that not only provides greater safety along the coast, it offers, moreover, additional space for recreation and nature.” The work has now been completed and from today this Zuid Holland peninsula will be open to the public. Atsma is convinced that the Sand Motor concept can also be used abroad. ‘‘The Netherlands has a new export article. This is where a small country can play a significant role.”Van Oord and Boskalis have delivered an innovative project. In total 1.5 million cubic metres of sand were deposited between Ter Heijde and Kijkduin. Wind, waves and currents have all helped to spread this sand along the Delfland coast. The coastline expands in a natural manner, which makes the coast safer while creating a new nature area. Furthermore, the application of the Sand Motor means that it will no longer be necessary to spray sand on this part of the coast every five years. This will reduce costs and have fewer adverse effects on the sea bed. The natural developments will be monitored closely during the first ten years. For instance, it was already clear in late October that the tip of the Sand Motor is extending towards the coast faster than expected. The Sand Motor comprises 128 hectares. The width on the beach is approximately 2 kilometres. The peninsula protrudes approximately 1 kilometre into the sea. After 10 to 20 years, the peninsula is expected to result in 35 hectares of new beach and dunes. From today, the public will have free access to the Sand Motor.1514Van Oord‘s flexible fallpipe vessel (FFPV) Tertnes has been mobilised to the east coast of Mexico (Bay of Campeche) to execute subsea rock installation projects on pipelines and cables for various main contractors. The ultimate client is state oil and gas company PEMEX.FFPV vessel Tertnes, which has a loading capacity of 9,785 tonnes, was mobilised to the Far East via the Panama Canal to guarantee a timely commencement of the works in Mexico. Supported by the local offices in Houston and Mexico City, the operations will take place in the fourth quarter of 2011. This project is Van Oord's first ever rock installation project in Mexico.Subsea rock installation technique is very suitable for providing stabilisation and protection in the uneven seabed conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. Here, rock outcrops and reefs require a proper preparation of the seabed before and after the installation of pipelines and cables. Van Oord has an extensive track record on executing similar works all over the world. For FFPV Tertnes, this is the second job in Latin America in one year. In late 2010, the vessel completed a pipeline stabilisation project for Brazilian oil and gas operator Petrobras in Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. Van Oord operates two other state-of-the-art flexible fallpipe vessels. FFPV Stornes (27,000 tonnes), operational since late September 2011, and FFPV Nordnes (24,000 tonnes) are currently both working on rock installation projects in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.1510Van Oord is going to deepen and widen the access channel to the port of Klaipeda in Lithuania. The contract is worth approximately EUR 40 million and is being financed partly by the European Union. The client is the Klaipeda port authority and the project will be executed in 2011-2012. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} The project involves the deepening of the access channel to -14.5 metres along a stretch of almost 6 kilometres. The channel will also be widened by 30 metres from 120 to 150 metres. A total of 4.5 million m3 of soil will be removed. Van Oord is deploying a large backhoe dredger and some split hopper dredgers. The project is by far the largest contract in terms of value and volume for the port of Klaipeda and will contribute to the economic development and safety of the port. In the future, the port will be accessible to post-Panamax vessels (with a length of 300 metres and a width of 40 metres).1506Van Oord’s Work Safe programme won the International Association of Dredging Companies’ (IADC) 2011 Safety Award. After making an inventory of the accidents on site over the last few years, Van Oord decided to implement a comprehensive programme to address overall safety. The result was Work Safe.As CEO Pieter van Oord remarked upon receiving the award from IADC Secretary General, Mr René Kolman and IADC President, Mr Koos van Oord: ‘Our company is extremely honoured to be the recipient of the IADC Annual Safety Award. Van Oord prides itself on ingenuity in meeting the challenges inherent to maritime construction and inventiveness to realise innovative and sustainable solutions for worldwide maritime challenges. Our approach to safety issues is the same. This prize was awarded, not for a specific project, but for an overall safety system, a system which has been implemented in our organisation over the last year. Work Safe presents employees with a number of questions about safety to ask themselves in order to achieve a safer working environment. For instance, what should one do - and especially not do - within the framework of safety. The rules in Work Safe have been created based on their answers and on analysing the most typical types of accidents that occur during dredging projects. From this process, ‘lessons learnt' have been derived. With these lessons learnt from the past, we are able to work even more safely in the present and future. In the Work Safe system each individual process is addressed separately and a list of instructions have been written which describes the safety issues related to that particular operation. These safety guidelines apply to dredging and marine works by Van Oord and its subcontractors. The results have been encouraging. From 2010 to the present we have already noted a decrease of on-job incidents.'1499Visitors to the website www.debestetraineeships.nl have voted Van Oord’s traineeship ‘Best Traineeship 2011’ in the IT & Technology category.The traineeship, which acquaints young professionals with various aspects of the marine engineering, dredging and offshore sector, won the same title in 2010 and 2007. That means that Van Oord has been automatically nominated for the overall title of ‘Best Traineeship 2011'. Together with the four other category winners, it will compete for the overall title on Thursday 6 October during the National Career Event. Read more about Van Oord's international technical traineeship.1494EDF Energy Renewables awarded the Balance of Plant contract for the Teesside offshore wind farm to Van Oord. The execution offshore for the Van Oord activities will start mid January 2012 and are scheduled for completion in November 2012.The wind farm is located at its closest point 1.5 km off the shore of Redcar in the North East of England. The Van Oord Balance of Plant activities involve the fabrication and installation of the 27 foundations, the design, supply and installation of approximately 18 km sub-sea cabling and provision of scour protection. Siemens will supply the 27 wind turbines. The installation of the turbines will be done together with Van Oord. Once up and running the wind farm will have the capacity to produce 62 megawatt of electricity to power up to 40,000 households. Van Oord has ten year's experience in the offshore wind construction, including five years as a Balance of Plant Contractor. The construction of the Teesside offshore wind farm will be completed just ahead of the launching of Van Oord's new installation vessel Aeolus. In recent years Van Oord was involved in Balance of Plant contracts for the Dutch wind park Princess Amalia and the Belgium offshore wind park Belwind phase 1. Last month the company has been awarded the design and installation of infield cables for the DanTysk offshore wind farm in Germany. Furthermore Van Oord will start mid September with the installation of two 100 m high meteorological masts in the North Sea under an earlier awarded EPC contract.1490Van Oord has been awarded a contract by The Netherlands’ Department of Public Works for the execution of maintenance dredging work. The work involves a three-year performance contract and relates to two dredging plots.For the execution of the work, which will start on 1 September 2011, Van Oord will be deploying equipment including two trailing suction hopper dredgers. The contract value amounts to more than EUR 20 million. The first plot involves maintaining the Maasgeul, Eurogeul and IJgeul channels. These are the North Sea channels that provide access for shipping to the Rotterdam and Amsterdam port areas. The Maasgeul channel will also be widened. Moreover, this contract offers the opportunity for marine sand extraction at a number of fixed locations in the North Sea. The second plot involves maintaining channels from the harbour mouth near IJmuiden up to locks. It is vital for shipping that these channels always have the correct depth to maintain access to the Amsterdam port area. The development of the Fortput sandpit is part of this contract.1488Van Oord is an international marine contractor based in Rotterdam, which is why Van Oord will again be present this year at Rotterdam’s largest maritime event: the World Port Days on 2, 3 and 4 September 2011.This is a spectacular public event at which leading Rotterdam companies will be revealing all aspects of the port. The World Port Days are an experience for all those - both young and old - who like ships and maritime adventures. You will find our stand along the Parkkade, where you will be welcomed by Van Oord employees who will be pleased to answer all your questions. You will also be able to enjoy a guided tour of one of our suction hopper dredgers, which will be a unique opportunity to visit one of our working vessels. For more information, go to www.wereldhavendagen.nl  1485Van Oord has bought a Shallow Water Pipe Lay (SWPL) Barge for pipeline installation in shallow water. With this barge Van Oord extends its services to the offshore industry. The purchase is in line with Van Oord’s growth strategy of its offshore activities and the reinforcement of its position as an Engineering, Procurement, Construction (main) contractor. The barge is under construction in Nantong, China and will be operational late 2012.The length of the barge is 120 m and its width is 40 m. With this barge 18 - 48 inch pipelines can be installed in water depths from 6 - 50 m. In some cases, depending on the pipeline diameter, installation is possible to a depth of 100 m. The barge is equipped with a 500 tonnes crane and has accommodation for 300 people. Together with the existing services for the construction of landfalls, the installation of rock, trench dredging and backfill and the installation of Single Point Mooring (SPM)-systems, this addition to the fleet will enable Van Oord to offer an integrated package of offshore services to oil and gas companies as EPC (main) contractor. The investment comprises part of Van Oord's comprehensive investment scheme for 2011-2015 of EUR 1 billion.1476On Friday 8 July, the Strukton/Van Oord consortium finally lowered the tunnel section under Amsterdam Central Station. This unique event, lowering the section under the station and positioning it between the micro-tunnelling and sandwich walls, was successfully completed. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} The section was sunk using immersion pontoons and was then suspended from the ceiling using suspension cables. The immersion pontoons can now be removed, leaving the tunnel "suspended" in its final position. Work will shortly begin on backfilling around the section.1466Van Oord has been awarded the contract for the infield cabling and burial of the DanTysk offshore wind farm project 70 km off Sylt, Germany. The laying work will begin in the spring of 2013 and be completed around six months later.The DanTysk wind farm is a joint venture between Vattenfall Europe Windkraft GmbH and Stadtwerke München. Vattenfall is responsible for the construction and operation of the wind farm located some 70 kilometres to the west of the island of Sylt in the German North Sea. The 80 wind turbines (Siemens 3.6 MW) have a total capacity of 288 megawatts and can generate electricity for up to 300,000 households. The agreed services with Van Oord encompass design, delivery, laying, pull-in and burial of the cables to the 80 steel foundations. The cabling has a total length of 111 kilometres. The infield cabling connects the 80 wind turbines with the offshore transformer station. Van Oord's equipment is capable of carrying the entire cable length in four shipments from the fabrication yard of Parker Scanrope in Norway to the DanTysk site.   'By using Van Oord, we have enlisted the services of a highly experienced and reliable partner in offshore projects. The key factor in this award of contract was the specialist technical equipment of the transportation fleet which guarantees on-schedule and thus cost-efficient cable laying. Van Oord proved to be a professional bidder over the entire negotiating period', says Georg Friedrichs, Head of the Offshore Wind Division at Vattenfall. Van Oord possesses extensive experience in the construction of offshore wind farms. Vattenfall has previously successfully partnered with the company on the wind farm project Alpha Ventus.1461On 27 June last, at the age of 88, Mr Jan van Oord passed away. In 1948 Mr Jan van Oord was one of the founders of the company Jac.G. van Oord and Sons, predecessor of Van Oord nv. He was managing director of the company until 1984 and from 1984 until 1994 he was a member of the Supervisory Board. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} After ending his career Mr Jan van Oord was very much involved, in the background, with the fortunes of the company and its employees. Until recently he was present during all memorable events, like the christening and launch of the new cutter suction dredger Athena in February last.Out of respect for Mr Van Oord all flags at our offices and on board our ships will be flown at half-mast on this Friday 1 July. We would like to express our gratitude for everything Mr Van Oord has done for our company.  1457The Supervisory Board of Van Oord has, in consultation with the Executive Board, decided to increase the Executive Board with one member. The Works Council has already advised positively regarding this appointment.As a result Mr. P.W. (Paul) Verheul MSc. will start with Van Oord as from 1st September 2011 and be appointed member of the Executive Board. He will report to the CEO, Mr P. (Pieter) van Oord. Paul Verheul is 49 years old. He has worked for 16 years with the Royal Netherlands Navy and thereafter for 13 years in the aviation industry. His current position is CEO at Driessen Aerospace Group, part of Zodiac Aerospace. The increase of the Executive Board is related to the expected growth of the company. This appointment will have no consequences for the governance structure of the company. As of 1 September the Executive Board of Van Oord consists of Mr.P (Pieter) van Oord CEO, Mr. P.H.G. (Peter) de Ridder COO, Mr P.W. (Paul Verheul) COO and Mr. A.J. (Arjan) van de Kerk CFO1455The new Marine Facade passenger terminal on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg is up and running. Russia has opened a new European portal with the completion of this new passenger terminal for cruise ships and ferries. Van Oord performed all the dredging work for the access canal and harbour basin.In 2005, the Russian main contractor Morskoy Fasad awarded Van Oord the contract for the dredging work of this project. In fulfilling the contract, Van Oord dredged more than 15 million m³ of sand and clay and developed a total of 120 new hectares of land. The new terminal, which has a capacity of 12,000 passengers a day, has seven piers, five for cruise ships and two for universal traffic, including ferries. A new area is being developed behind the harbour for buildings whose accommodations will include business offices and hotels. The development of the Marine Facade has breathed new life into the tourism industry in St. Petersburg.  1453The Dutcham Trade Award 2010-2011 is dedicated to Van Oord Offshore for best business achievement in Brazil. The trophy was assigned to the Dutch dredging company for their succesfull merits in the Brazilian offshore industry.At the ceremony on May 17 in São Paulo the jury of the Brasilian-Dutch Chamber of Commerce was unanimous in their decision to hand out the first price to Van Oord for their challenging and unique project in the Amazone Rio Negro near Manaus. Earlier this year Van Oord succesfully executed a Subsea Rock Installation project at two gas pipelines for Petrobras Oil and Gas. Both pipe lines at the bottom of the Rio Negro-river were stabilized and protected by means of rock. On behalf of the Dutch company, based in Rio de Janeiro, project manager Bert Bouwmeester collected the trophy. "Not only a big compliment for Petrobras and Van Oord, but also a tribute to all Brasilian companies involved. As a pilotproject our challenge was to operate in a new country and environment, and to install in a constant moving river Rio Negro". The yearly Dutcham trade competition awarded two other Dutch companies for second and third. Fugro Subsea Services for the construction of a new building site, illustrating their commitment to the future Brazilian market, and Royal Dutch Shell for their achievements in 2010 and 2011.1439On 6 May, the Sand Motor information centre will be opening in The Hague. Here, visitors can learn everything about the construction and effect of the Sand Motor, as well as ‘building with nature’.The information centreThe information centre covers topics including innovation, marine engineering, research, safety, nature and recreation. Films, a virtual model and photos will allow visitors to enter the world of the Sand Motor. An assistant will be present to answer questions and to provide explanations. From the roof terrace, visitors will have a good view of the coastline and the work being carried out by Van Oord and Boskalis. Opening times and groupsThe information centre will be open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Groups may visit the information centre outside these opening times by appointment. To make an appointment, please call 31 (0)70-3378487 or e-mail to zandmotor@kustvisiezuidholland.nl. LocationThe information centre is located on the site of the Delfland Water Board [Hoogheemraadschap van Delfland] at Hoek van Hollandlaan 15 in The Hague (Kijkduin district). The route is signposted from the Kijkduin boulevard. The www.dezandmotor.nl website contains up-to-date information and directions to the information centre. Sand MotorThe Sand Motor consists of 21.5 million m3 of sand that will be deposited in the form of a hook-shaped peninsula at Ter Heijde. Wind, waves and currents will spread the sand gradually along the coast of Zuid-Holland province. This principle of ‘building with nature' will ensure that the coast will be replenished by natural means. In this way, the Sand Motor will contribute to coastal protection while providing more space for nature and recreation. This is the first time that the Sand Motor concept is being implemented.1435Singapore oil terminal ATB has presented Inai Kiara-Van Oord JV with an award for their commitment and contribution in achieving 1 million safe man hours without long term injuries. This result was achieved at the construction of a hydrocarbon storage and distribution project at Tanjung Bin in Malaysia. The project involves dredging, shore protection and soil improvement works. In total some 3,900,000 m3 of sand were dredged and 65,000 tonnes of stone placed.ATB CEO Eric Arnold commended Van Oord for their contribution for setting the precedence in safety and health performance for all subsequent scopes of work by third companies. The project was successfully completed on 3 March 2011.1433Van Oord will join forces with Canadian based CSL Group Inc. for the technical and commercial management of flexible fallpipe vessels including the MV Tertnes, the MV Nordnes and the MV Stornes. The MV Tertnes, as well as the underlying contracts for each of the three vessels, were acquired by CSL as part of its acquisition of Jebsens’ belted self unloader business as was previously announced. Together both companies look forward to optimizing and expanding the worldwide employment of the flexible fallpipe vessels in the traditional North Sea market and in the Gulf of Mexico, Canada, Russia and Australia.The CSL Group is the world's largest owner and operator of belted self-unloading vessels having extensive operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Van Oord provides services to the oil and gas industry by accurately installing rock with flexible fallpipe vessels in water depths up to more than 1,000 m.1427The announced transfer of shares from NPM Capital N.V. to MerweOord B.V., the investment company of the Van Oord family, took place on 30 March 2011. The MerweOord interest in Van Oord is now 78.5%. The interest of BAM remains 21.5%. This new ownership of shares continues to guarantee the stability of Van Oord.1425On 4 March 2011, Essar Bulk Terminal in Hazira, India, part of the globally operating Essar Group, awarded Van Oord a prize for best performance as regards safe working conditions in 2010. The prize is part of the annual National Safety Day Celebration.Van Oord is currently executing the deepening of the access channel and berth for large bulk carriers that deliver raw materials for the Essar plant in Hazira. The significant expansion of the harbour has made it one of the most important deep-sea harbours in the state of Gujarat, a major industrial centre located in northwest India. "This prize is an important means of recognising our on-site people, who have worked closely together to achieve even safer working conditions", responded area manager Martin Meijers. Works Manager Hendrik-Jan Ridder accepted the prize on Van Oord's behalf.1421Van Oord has won the second price in the category most innovative company during the award of the annual ICT innovation prizes.The awards are an initiative of ICT Media and CIO Magazine, intended to stimulate innovative projects on the part of both suppliers and customers in the ICT industry. The price was awarded during a meeting of many IT managers of influential Dutch companies on 15 March 2011.1419Van Oord has received an assignment from RWE to build a 100 m high mast in the North Sea to measure maritime meteorological influences. The meteorological mast will be built 75 km from the coast in the ´IJmuiden´ offshore wind region, which is part of the National Water Plan. The mast will be built on a monopile foundation consisting of a 65 m steel tube with a diameter of almost 3.5 m. The tube pile will be driven approximately 40 m into the sea bed at a location where the sea is 26 m deep.It is the first time in Europe that a meteorological mast is being erected so far from the coast. Van Oord will complete the project as EPCI contractor, and the mast is expected to be commissioned in September 2011. The design of the mast took account of the possibility to fix sensors at four different heights (between 30 and 100 m) to measure and record wind speeds, wind direction, temperature and differences in pressure. In order to facilitate the design of safe and cost-efficient foundations for wind turbines in the future, the mast will also be made suitable for measuring currents, wave heights and wave lengths.   The results of the investigation into wind speeds, currents and wave action will be used in the FLOW consortium (Far and Large Offshore Wind) research and development programme in which Van Oord participates.1397Van Oord signed a contract with the Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan for the new Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat settlement in Azerbaijan. The contract value is approximately EUR 80 mio. The dredging will be executed within 2 years’ time. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} The project consists of dredging a navigation channel which will be 7 kilometres long and 160 metres wide and turning basin for the new port. In total, some 8.8 million cubic metres of material will be dredged and discharged. The port development in Baku will mean an important economic boost to the region.1390Van Oord and the green investment company Typhoon Offshore B.V. signed a letter of intent for the construction of the BARD-Netherlands offshore wind farm.The wind farm (600 Mw output capacity) will consist of two adjoining wind farms with a capacity of 300 Mw each, located 55 km north of the island of Schiermonnikoog. The contract value for Van Oord is in the range of EUR 300 and EUR 400 million. The wind farm will supply green electricity to over 1.5 million Dutch consumers, making it by far the largest sustainable energy project in the Netherlands. Typhoon Offshore will be responsible for financing the project. Once the financial arrangements have been made, the cooperation agreement will be finalised in the final quarter of 2011. According to planning, the construction will start in 2012.  The project is of an exceptionally large scale in terms of financing, size and construction.The wind farm will be built in one of the most harsh environments in the North Sea, with high winds and frequent heavy swell. Van Oord will be responsible for inspecting the sea bed and for producing the detailed engineering design for the wind farm. As the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor, Van Oord will also be responsible for purchasing  materials, installing the foundations and wind turbines as well as laying the cables. The new installation vessel for offshore wind projects will be deployed on the project for a period of two years. After constructing the Princess Amalia Windpark in the Netherlands and the Belwind project  off the Belgian Coast, this is Van Oord's third major EPC contract. This new project confirms the company's strong and leading position in offshore wind farm construction in North West Europe.1381Van Oord has been awarded the dredging contract for the Iraq crude oil export expansion project off the coast of Iraq in the Arabian Gulf.The client is the South Oil Company of Iraq. Van Oord will be working for main contractor Leighton based in Australia. The contract value for Van Oord amounts to some USD 100 million. Work will start immediately and continue until the end of 2011. After completing the maintenance dredging project in the port of Umm Qasr in 2003, this is Van Oord's next project in Iraq. Van Oord will be dredging a 43-km-long trench and the turning basins around three oil loading buoys. The project site is located at the mouth of the river Euphrat. Van Oord will be deploying its largest trailing suction hopper dredger HAM 318 and two cutter suction dredgers.The HAM 318 will be working at a distance of approximately 40 km off shore. The cutter suction dredgers will be working closer to the coast. During project execution all employees will remain offshore.  1378The Sand Motor project, an innovative approach to coastal reinforcement, will be commencing today along the coastline of the Dutch Province of Zuid-Holland. The project will involve extending the coast into the sea, making it safer and creating a new conservation and recreational area. The Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment, Joop Atsma, joined provincial executive councillor Lenie Dwarshuis this afternoon in Ter Heijde to mark the start of the Sand Motor project, which will make the Netherlands a safer, bigger and lovelier place.The Sand Motor project will involve depositing 21.5 million m3 of sand in the sea in the shape of a hook that rises above the water line. The base of the hook will be connected to the coastline at Ter Heijde. Wind, waves and ocean currents will gradually distribute the sand along the coast. 'Building with nature' in this way will ensure natural sand suppletion, so that the coastline grows. The Sand Motor project will therefore help protect the coast and create new land for conservation and recreational purposes at the same time. In addition, it will also be financially advantageous: once it is constructed, it will no longer be necessary to deposit sand every five years in order to continue protecting the coast. 'Much of the Netherlands is below sea level. That is one reason why the Dutch are the best marine engineers in the world. To safeguard our coast, we have spent decades searching for new ways to protect ourselves against floods. In this project, we have made the sea our ally,' said Mr Atsma. ScheduleThe sand suppletion work will be finished by October 2011. It will take at least five years before the all the sand has been dispersed along the coast in the form of beaches and dunes. CostsThe Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment is responsible for the engineering. The Van Oord-Boskalis consortium will do the actual land reclamation work. The Province of Zuid-Holland is responsible for managing the area. The national government will contribute EUR 58 million to the cost of the project, and the Province EUR 12 million.1349On 16 December last Van Oord commissioned the construction of a second self-propelled cutter suction dredger. Today CEO Pieter van Oord announced that the vessel will be named Artemis. Artemis is the Greek godess of hunting. She is powerfull and strong willed.This new vessel will be the sister to the Athena, the self-propelled cutter suction dredger that is currently under construction. The Artemis will be built at the IHC shipyard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. The Artemis will be 130 m long, with installed power of 24,650 KW, and will be, along with its sister vessel the Athena, amongst the most modern and powerful self-propelling cutter suction dredgers in the world. The vessel will be operational mid 2013.Please click here for high resolution artist impression in our download centre.1340At IHC’s shipyard in Heusden the keel was laid of Van Oord’s second self-propelled cutter suction dredger. Ms G. Lievense – de Vries performed the keel-laying ceremony in honour of her husband project manager Kees Lievense who passed away earlier this year. This new vessel will be the sister to the Athena, the self-propelled cutter suction dredger that is currently under construction. Like the Athena, the new cutter suction dredger will be built at the IHC shipyard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands.The new cutter suction dredger will be 130 m long, with installed power of 24,650 KW, and will be, along with its sister vessel the Athena, amongst the most modern and powerful self-propelling cutter suction dredgers in the world. This substantial investment comprises part of Van Oord's comprehensive new investment scheme for 2011-2015. Please click here for high resolution photos of the keel laying ceremony in our downloadcentre.1329The Netherlands’ Department of Public Works has awarded the contract to construct the 'Sand Engine' to Dutch contractors Van Oord and Boskalis. The Sand Engine will be constructed in front of the coast of Ter Heijde in the Province of Zuid-Holland. It will combine coastal defences with new recreational opportunities and nature conservation. The contract awarded to the Van Oord-Boskalis consortium is valued at EUR 50 million.The Sand Engine project will involve depositing a huge quantity of sand in the sea in the shape of a hook. The base of the hook will be formed by the coastline. Wind, waves and ocean currents will gradually distribute the sand along the coast. 'Building with nature' in this way will ensure natural sand suppletion, so that the coastline grows. The Sand Engine will therefore help protect the coast and create new land for nature and recreational purposes. Contract The contract is an Engineering and Construct contract. That means that the consortium will be responsible for finalising the design and for carrying out the work. The award of the contract depended on the number of m3 of sand that could be provided for a fixed price of EUR 50 million. Van Oord and Boskalis will supply 21.5 million m3 of sand for this amount. Schedule Public Works and Van Oord-Boskalis consortium will sign the contract on 22 December 2010. Work on the project will begin in early 2011 and take more than a year to complete. The contractors will be deploying trailing suction hopper dredgers to carry out the work. The Sand Engine should be completed by the spring of 2012. Innovation The Sand Engine is another Dutch innovation that puts the Netherlands in the forefront of marine engineering worldwide. It is the first time that this method of coastal construction will be applied on such a large scale, and Public Works is therefore treating it as a pilot project. During and after construction, the authorities will be monitoring the impact of the Sand Engine on the ocean current, nature, recreation and coastal defences. Later, the Netherlands will be able to apply what it has learned about building sustainable, natural coastal defences all around the world, confirming its leading position in water management. Project partners The Sand Engine pilot project is a joint venture between the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment and the Province of Zuid-Holland. It is being carried out in close collaboration with the City of The Hague, the City of Rotterdam, the Municipality of Westland, the Delfland District Water Control Board, and the Environmental Federation for Zuid-Holland.1323MerweOord B.V. (Gorinchem), the investment company of the Van Oord family, and NPM Capital N.V. (Amsterdam), both shareholder in Van Oord nv, have informed Van Oord to have reached an agreement on the transfer of the 27,5% share in Van Oord nv held by NPM Capital to MerweOord B.V. The MerweOord interest in Van Oord will therefore increase to 78,5%.Koninklijke BAM Groep N.V. has also announced to have reached an agreement with MerweOord B.V. to jointly search for a party that might be interested in the 21,5% share of Koninklijke BAM Groep in Van Oord. If desired MerweOord will supplement this share to a maximum of 30%, as a result of which the desinvestment possibilities for BAM will increase.1321Marine contractor Van Oord has commissioned the construction of a second self-propelled cutter suction dredger to IHC Merwede. This new vessel will be the sister to the Athena, the self-propelled cutter suction dredger that is currently under construction. Like the Athena, the new cutter suction dredger will be built at the IHC shipyard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands.The new cutter suction dredger will be 130 m long, with installed power of 24,650 KW, and will be, along with its sister vessel the Athena, amongst the most modern and powerful self-propelling cutter suction dredgers in the world. Along with the announced commission of the construction of an installation vessel for the offshore wind farm market, this substantial investment comprises part of Van Oord's comprehensive new investment scheme for 2011-2015. According to Pieter Van Oord, the CEO of the Rotterdam-based, family-owned company, this new investment scheme and the construction of a second self-propelled cutter suction dredger is a sign of Van Oord's confidence in the global dredging market. ‘We are building vessels like the Athena and her sister vessel for amongst others large harbour projects in the Middle East and Australia, which will give us an advantage in this specific market segment. We are very confident about our prospects for taking on the competition over the next few years', stated the CEO. ‘In addition to our operations in the offshore installation market and the construction of complete offshore wind farms, dredging and marine contracting are our most important operations. We are the trend-setters in these specialised fields, and that is a status we wish to maintain. In fact, we want to take that a step further by expanding our position in these specialised markets, and we will be making substantial investments in people and equipment over the next few years with that goal in mind.' Please click here for high resolution artist impression in our download centre. For more informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com.  1319Van Oord has completed the Belwind Phase | Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Zeebrugge, Belgium. On Thursday 9 December 2010 Belwind was officially opened.The Belwind Phase I Offshore Wind Farm was completed in the record time of 15 months and will now provide 175,000 households with green energy. Van Oord was responsible for the design and construction of all of the foundations, the complete electrical infrastructure and the connection to the onshore grid. The Belwind Phase I Offshore Wind Farm includes 55 wind turbines and one offshore high voltage station. The farm is located approximately 50 km off the coast of Belgium, in waters ranging from 15 to 32 m deep. Belwind Phase I is the furthest operational offshore wind farm in the world to date. Project execution began in August 2009. In February 2010, the 56 foundations, consisting of monopiles weighing 400 tonnes each and transition pieces weighing 160 tonnes each, were successfully installed. Between April and August 2010, the 55 Vestas V90 wind turbines, each capable of producing a maximum power output of 3 MW, were installed on the foundations.  Van Oord has also commissioned the construction of a transport and installation vessel for constructing offshore wind farms. The vessel will be constructed at the Sietas shipyard in Hamburg, Germany. The extremely innovative and advanced transport and installation vessel to be built for constructing offshore wind farms will be 139 m long, 38 m wide, with a designed draught of 5.7 m and a top speed of 12 knots (see artist impression). The vessel will be fitted with a crane capable of hoisting 900 tonnes and accommodation for 74 people. The vessel will be delivered in September 2012. For the past few decades, Van Oord has been involved with the construction of various offshore wind farms in the North Sea, sometimes as a contractor for parts of farms and sometimes as an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contractor. Belwind is Van Oord's second EPC contract in the offshore wind farm industry. In 2007, Van Oord successfully completed the Princess Amalia wind farm off the coast of IJmuiden, the Netherlands. Both projects confirm Van Oord's leading role on the market for offshore wind farms in northwest Europe.  Please click here for high resolution photos/artist impression in our download centre. For more information Mr A.G.M. Groothuizen, Manager Marketing and Public Relations, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com.1317Van Oord has completed first rock installation project at the Rio Negro pipeline crossing project in Manaus, Amazonas State, in Brazil. The client is the Brazilian oil and gas operator Petrobras.The works is part of the Urucu-Coari-Manaus gas pipeline project which transports gas from the onshore Solimões basin to the city of Manaus. In order for the gas to reach Manaus, two pipelines with diameters of 14 and 20 inch need to cross the River Negro. To guarantee stability and prevent scour, the flexible fallpipe vessel Tertnes carried out the rock installation works on both pipelines. The vessel loaded the rock at a floating quay wall in the port of Chibatao, Manaus. This is the first rock installation project by flexible fallpipe vessel in Brazil. Van Oord has been active in Brazil since 1985 with offshore, dredging and marine activities.1311Trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Máxima has won the Ship of the Year Award 2010. The award was presented to shipbuilder IHC Merwede by the Royal Netherlands Society of Professionals in Shipping Technology (KNVTS).The jury awarded the prize to the Vox Máxima because it is the biggest dredging vessel ever constructed in the Netherlands, and because it is cleverly designed and offers excellent transport efficiency. IHC Merwede succeeded in building a fast vessel despite its large hopper capacity and full shape. The ship also offers a number of innovations, including the structure of the single suction pipe and ergonomic layout of the bridge. The Vox Máxima illustrates the leading position that the Netherlands has in the field of dredging technology. For more information about the Vox Máxima, click here.1305OVG Projectontwikkeling and Van Oord today started building work on a new head office of around 14,000 m2 for Van Oord in Rotterdam. The office for dredging and marine contractor Van Oord is on the banks of the River Maas. This time Van Oord did not do any dredging, but rather CEO Pieter van Oord symbolically laid the foundation stone together with Mayor Aboutaleb.OVG is developing the new Van Oord office on the Schaardijk: the interchange for one of the most vital (water) ways of The Netherlands. To the north the high-profile location borders on the Nieuwe Maas, a stone's throw from the Van Brienenoord Bridge, which is crossed daily by about 250,000 cars. The distinctive design has a nautical theme, which fits in well with both Van Oord and the location. The roofs will be covered with moss sedum that, due to its energy efficiency, will contribute to the sustainable character of the building. The office is expected to be completed in March 2012. OVG Projectontwikkeling and De Jong Gortemaker Algra Architecten have succeeded in designing offices that fit in extremely well with the ambiance of the surroundings and in which the character of Van Oord as dredger and marine contractor is interpreted perfectly. 'Our new offices and the location are a reflection of our business activities', says Pieter van Oord, CEO of Van Oord. 'We are proud that Van Oord has chosen this sustainable solution', says Coen van Oostrom, CEO of OVG Projectontwikkeling. The arrival of Van Oord in the Nieuwe Maas office park heralds the start of phase 1 of this campus project. The second phase comprises an office development of around 12,000 m2. Acting on behalf of Van Oord in this transaction were the Rotterdam offices of Loyens Loeff and BOAG Advies en Management.1297Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has awarded the development of Das Island reclamation and shore protection contract to Van Oord. The contract value amounts to EUR 200 million. Execution of the project will start at end of October and is scheduled for completion in December 2011.Das Island, situated 110 km off the coast of Abu Dhabi, is an important hub for the export of oil and gas. With this design and construct contract the existing island will be extended by some 17 ha. A new airport and residential area will be built on the reclaimed land. Some 16 million m3 of sand will be reclaimed and compacted. The construction of a 7 km revetment will be included in the contract. Van Oord will deploy several trailing suction hopper dredgers. The development of Das Island will give an important boost to the local oil and gas industry.1290In the past few weeks visitors to the website www.debestetraineeships.nl have cast their vote for their favourite traineeship. As in 2007 Van Oord has won the title in the category Technique.Together with the other winners Van Oord will compete for the overall title, which will be awarded during the Dutch Career Event on 28 October 2010.1288Rotterdam, the Netherlands - 3rd September 2010 - Van Oord was recently awarded the dredging works for the Cape Lambert Port B Project by Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd. The project comprises the construction of a new port facility adjacent to the existing Cape Lambert Port facility in Western Australia. This will involve the construction of a new train unloading infrastructure, stockyard, ship loading facilities (including a new wharf) and associated dredging.The dredging works contract includes the removal of underwater obstructions, dredging of the seabed to the nominated depths and disposal of dredged material to offshore disposal areas. Preparations for the project have begun with the dredging works scheduled for completion in November 2011. The port of Cape Lambert in Western Australia will be expanded with four new berth pockets, a port basin, a turning basin and a channel to connect the new facilities with the existing entrance channel. In total some 9 million cubic meters of sand, gravel and cap rock will be dredged. Van Oord will deploy trailing suction hopper dredger Rotterdam, cutter suction dredger Castor and backhoe dredger BHD Hippopotes.The first phase of the Cape Lambert Port expansion will increase the export capacity of iron ore by a further 50 MTPA (million tonnes per annum). Raw materials are a major Australian export product and the port expansion will contribute to the growth of the Australian economy.  1276On 20 August 2010, flexible fallpipe vessel Stornes was launched at the CIMC Raffles yard in Yantai, China. A naming ceremony will be held at a later date. Final building operations will be conducted at the same yard. The ship is scheduled for completion in 2011 after which it will be operational on the offshore market.Apart from the vessels Nordnes, Tertnes and Jan Steen, Stornes is the fourth and largest flexible fallpipe vessel in the Van Oord fleet and one of the largest in its category. The ship has an overall length of 175 m, a width of 26 m and a loading capacity of 27,000 tonnes. Gliding rails brought the ship from shore to a pontoon, after which the pontoon was submerged in the harbour. Stornes is one of the latest investments from the EUR 1 billion Van Oord investment programme. The final investment in this programme is the self-propelled cutter suction dredger Athena, which is currently being built at the IHC Dredgers yard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. Later this year, Van Oord will launch a new investment programme for the period 2011 - 2015. Please visit our download centre for high resolution photos of the flexible fallpipe vessel Stornes.1273Water Works — Terra NovaThis summer, from 12 June to 5 September 2010, Kunsthal Rotterdam presents over eighty works by painter and lithographer Jeroen Hermkens (1960). From January 2009 onwards Hermkens travelled around the world for one and a half years in order to register the activities of dredging company Van Oord based in Rotterdam. Painting with powerful strokes of the brush and using only subtle colours, Hermkens manages to portray various domains within the robust reality of hydraulic engineering. His expressive paintings, lithographs and pen drawings represent the activities of excavators and dredgers, hoisting cranes and numerous ships and pontoons in a world of stone and steel, sand and water. A large wall painting by Hermkens, which is 25 metres long and 6 metres high, is also shown at the exhibition. New Land Hydraulic engineering has always had a strong appeal on Dutch artists. In 1932 painter Johan Mastenbroek (1875-1945) made drawings and paintings of the construction of the IJsselmeer Dam. The ancient theme of the battle against water is given a new look at the exhibition of work by Hermkens. For the first time ever the technological innovations in hydraulic engineering, the scaling up of dredging material and the size and complexity of large land reclamation projects are portrayed. The Palm Islands, the artificial peninsulas constructed of sand dredged from the bottom of the Persian Gulf on the coast of Dubai, are an example of the reclamation of land, as is the Maasvlakte near Rotterdam and the sand strip for the Hanzelijn near Lelystad; by means of pen drawings Hermkens carefully seeks to find the exact right cut-out or detailed plan of the various locations where Van Oord works. Jeroen Hermkens Jeroen Hermkens (1960) was educated at the Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten (Academy of Visual Arts) in Utrecht and at the Atelier Lithografique Champfleury in Paris. His paintings and lithographs have regularly been on display both in the Netherlands and abroad. In1996 he was awarded the Dutch Graphic Art Prize for his lithographs. Recently work by Hermkens was exhibited at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht (2007), at gallery Juffermans in Utrecht and at the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht (2009). After having been elected Artist of the Year there was a solo presentation of his work at Museum Jan van de Togt in Amstelveen in 2008. His work is included in a large number of art collections of major companies, amongst which that of ING Bank, Rabobank, Shell, Van Bruggen Adviesgroep and Van Lanschot Bankiers. Collection Koos van Oord The works from the exhibition entitled Water Works - Terra Nova were made on the occasion of the parting of Koos van Oord as CEO at Van Oord. To the exhibition a richly illustrated publication on the Koos Van Oord collection entitled Terra Nova is to appear, which will be published at A.W.Bruna and contains accompanying texts by Jeroen Hermkens. For impressions of artworks and the festive opening, please click here.  1245Van Oord has been awarded the contract to perform maintenance dredging in the port of Beira, Mozambique. The customer is CFM (Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique). The contract value amounts to some EUR 37 million. The work has begun in April 2010 and will take approximately eighteen months to complete. A portion of the project costs are being covered by the Dutch government.The work involves dredging the port of Beira. A total of 8 million cubic metres of sand and clay will be dredged. Some of the sand will be used for land reclamation for a coal terminal. Van Oord will deploy amongst others two medium-sized trailing suction hopper dredgers. In corporation with Van Oord's subsidiary Wicks the new site will be prepared for further development by using vertical drains. Deepening the port of Beira will give a strong boost to Mozambique's economic development.  1242Two Dutch organisations – Deltares, an expertise centre for delta technology located in Delft and Rotterdam-based dredging company Van Oord – have together come up with an innovative concept to combat the oil spill threatening the US’s southern coast. Their proposals consist of a set of radical measures that will do more to limit the environmental impact of the spill than has been assumed until now. Not only must the offshore slick be cleaned up, but the oil must also be kept away from vulnerable wildlife areas. Deltares and Van Oord have the required knowledge, experience and capacity to design and execute the sweeping measures required.The oil, which has been spilling into the Gulf of Mexico since 22 April from various leaks at 1500 metres depth, is situated approximately 80 kilometres off the coast of the state of Louisiana, threatening the Mississippi delta ecosystem. Experts fear that it may turn into the biggest oil spill ever. Hundreds of animal species along the coast are under threat. It may take weeks or even months before the leaks have been sealed. Given the size of the slick and the possibility that oil will continue to spill out for several weeks or months, it will be impossible to clean up the oil before it reaches the coast. Additional measures are needed to limit the impact on the ecosystem as much as possible. Everything possible must be done to prevent oil residue from ending up in the wetlands of the Mississippi Delta. Van Oord and Deltares have together developed a concept ensuring that any oil that does reach the coast causes as little damage as possible. The concept has been brought to the attention of the relevant American parties through various networks of American and Dutch parties (for example the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Dutch embassy and the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management/Department of Public Works), which evolved after the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The parties are now discussing using the concept to supplement existing containment measures. For more information A.G.M. Groothuizen, Van Oord Marketing and Public Relations Manager, T 31 (0)10 4478234, M 31 (0)6 22497880 E info@vanoord.com.  1240During the OTC Conference & Exhibition in Houston from 3-6 May 2010, Van Oord Offshore opened its new representative office in the U.S.A..The office is located in Houston, Texas, the oil and gas capital of the Western Hemisphere and home of many major oil and gas companies, engineering firms and other important players in the energy industry. With Van Oord's growing position in the offshore market, the establishment of the new representative office is a valuable addition to Van Oord's global network of local branches and affiliates. The main focus of the Houston office is to reinforce Van Oord's business development capabilities for its offshore activities worldwide. The office will be headed by Jos Wellink. A small informal ceremony during which the keys of the new office were handed over to Jos was organized on Tuesday the 4th of May at noon at the Van Oord stand number 2625 at OTC 2010, Main Hall D. For information on address: click here.  1234Van Oord today introduced sustainably produced coffee at its head office in Rotterdam. For this purpose, Van Oord is cooperating with the Beautiful People Foundation, a social and sustainable coffee and tea concept. All Beautiful People products are sustainable and have independent Rainforest Alliance, Max Havelaar, Eko and Fair Grounds certificates.Van Oord became involved with the foundation via the Artclub, which is part of the Beautiful People Foundation. More than 55 artist studios in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Dubai are affiliated to the Artclub. Artists with a cognitive disability work in these studios under the supervision of professional artists and care workers. On 29 April 2010, CEO Pieter van Oord welcomed a number of artists from the Artclub. They gave the introduction of the sustainably produced coffee a festive accent by handing out pastries.  1233The first turbine has been successfully installed on the Belwind Phase 1 Offshore Windfarm project, off the coast of Belgium. The installation platform JB114 departed from Zeebrugge to one of the most difficult locations on site for the installation of the first V90 Vestas turbine.The Belwind Phase 1 Offshore Windfarm will contain 55 turbines, each capable of producing a maximum expected power output of 3 MW. The turbine is equipped with three blades with a length of 45 meters each. The blades will be mounted to the nacelle located on top of the tower with a height of approximately 73m from sea level. Completion of the installation of 55 turbines is expected at the end of September 2010, according to programme.  Belwind is Van Oord's second EPC contract for Offshore Wind Projects. As EPC contractor Van Oord is responsible for engineering, procurement and construction. Earlier Van Oord completed the Princess Amalia wind farm project off the coast of IJmuiden, the Netherlands. Van Oord's knowledge and experience is concentrated in its business unit Offshore Wind Projects (OWP). The construction of the large Belwind project confirms the leading role of Van Oord as EPC contractor in North West Europe. Download photo's here.1221Four self propelled split hopper barges named after the famous Dutch engineers Jan Blanken, Jan Leeghwater, Pieter Caland and Cornelis Lely were christened on 27 March last in Dalian, China.The ceremonies were performed by Mrs M.G. Kloet, wife of area director J. Kloet, Mrs. M.W. Schaart, wife of staff director J. Schaart,  Mrs. H.B. Krekt, wife of area manager for China L.J. Krekt and Mrs J.M. Smidt, partner of project manager T.J.M. de Boer.The ships, each with a hopper capacity of 2,850 cubic metres, were built under IHC management. Together with the backhoe Goliath the Jan Blanken and Jan Leeghwater will be deployed on the harbour deepening project in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as of the summer of 2010. After final construction the Pieter Caland and Cornelis Lely will be operational mid 2010. The ships form part of Van Oord's EUR 1 billion investment programme for 2007-2011.  1219After the installation of the 56 monopiles Van Oord has now installed the last of the 56 transition pieces (TPs), of which 1 TP is for the Offshore High Voltage Station of the Belwind offshore wind park off the coast of Belgium. The 56 TPs were manufactured in Aalborg, Denmark and transported to Zeebrugge, Belgium.The TPs weigh 160 tonnes each and are 25 metres long. The foundation of each windturbine, consisting of a monopile and a TP, weighs 410 - 660 tonnes in total and is 65 to 90 metres long. With the installation of the TPs, the foundations for the 55 windturbines and the offshore transformer station was completed and the first operational phase of the project was completed on schedule. By the end of March Van Oord will begin with the transport and installation of the 55 wind generator turbines of 3 MW each (165 MW in total). Belwind is Van Oord's second EPC contract. As EPC contractor Van Oord is responsible for engineering, procurement and construction. Earlier Van Oord completed the Princess Amalia wind farm project off the coast of IJmuiden, the Netherlands. Van Oord's knowledge and experience is concentrated in its business unit Offshore Wind Projects (OWP). The construction of the large Belwind project confirms the leading role of Van Oord as EPC contractor in North West Europe.  1206Van Oord laid the keel of its giant self-propelled cutter suction dredger, Athena, today. Ms H. Vos-van Genderen, wife of Mr P.F. Vos, retired Van Oord Plant Design and Construction Manager, performed the keel-laying ceremony at the IHC Dredgers B.V. shipyard in Kinderdijk (Netherlands).The vessel - which will have an overall length of 129 m, a beam of 27.80 m, and total installed power of 24,000 kW - will be one of the most powerful and innovative cutter suction dredgers in the world and the biggest cutter in the Van Oord fleet. The first piece of steel was ceremonially cut on 11 August 2009. The keel-laying is the second milestone in the construction process. The cutter will be operational in October 2011. The new cutter will boost Van Oord's position in this important market segment. Its construction was part of Van Oord's EUR 1 billion investment programme for 2007-2011.1201On 5 February Van Oord installed the last of 56 monopiles on the Belwind offshore windpark project off the coast of Belgium. Van Oord transported the monopiles on board of coasters from Germany to the site storage in Zeebrugge, Belgium.The 56 transitions pieces were manufactured in Aalborg, Denmark and also transported to Zeebrugge, Belgium. On 16 of February Van Oord successfully installed 50 transition pieces using the jackup JB 114. Van Oord will finalize the installation works beginning of March 2010. The installation of the 55 turbines will start in the second half March 2010 by a jack-up platform. Van Oord will be responsible for the marine operations. The wind turbine generators will be erected by Vestas. The inter-array cable laying work, with a planned start in April 2010, will be executed by the Van Oord cable laying vessel HAM 601. A supply barge will bury the cable. In the spring and summer of 2010 the export cable installation, scour dumping and installation of the Offshore High Voltage Stations will be executed. Belwind is Van Oord's second EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract. Earlier Van Oord completed the Princess Amalia wind farm project off the coast of IJmuiden, the Netherlands. Van Oord's knowledge and experience is concentrated in our business unit Offshore Wind Projects (OWP). The Belwind project confirms the leading role of Van Oord as EPC contractor in North West Europe.1199Van Oord has been nominated by the judges of the Gouden Cursor (Golden Cursor).In total, some 400 recruitment sites have been evaluated. Ten sites have been shortlisted and have a chance to win the prize for most attractive recruitment site in The Netherlands. The prize will be presented on 25 March 2010 in Rotterdam. The public will decide who the winner is. For this purpose, online research will be carried out amongst the relevant target groups.The ten nominees are (in alphabetical order):1.   Amerpoort2.   DHL3.   Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen4.   Ikea5.   Koninklijke Landmacht   6.   Koninklijke Luchtmacht   7.   Koninklijke Marine     8.   Luchtverkeersleiding   9.   Nauta Dutilh10. Van Oord1197Van Oord took receipt of trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Máxima, built by IHC Dredgers bv, on 21 January 2010. This concludes a building period of more than two years after the cutting of the first steel plates in 2007. The vessel departed for Rotterdam, where it was put to work on the Maasvlakte 2 port expansion project.With a hopper capacity of 31,200 m3, the Vox Máxima is the most recent addition to the Van Oord fleet and the biggest trailing suction hopper dredger ever built in the Netherlands. Its construction is part of a EUR 1 billion investment programme launched in 2007 and continuing to 2011. In addition to the Vox Máxima, Van Oord also lengthened its trailing suction hopper dredger HAM 318 and constructed two heavy-duty backhoes, two water-injection vessels, and a number of split hoppers and sand carriers. A flexible fallpipe vessel, split hoppers, sand carriers and a self-propelled cutter suction dredger are still under construction.1168Van Oord has been awarded the deepening of the harbour Norrköping, Sweden. The contract value amounts to some EUR 19 million. The client is the Swedish Maritime Authority. Execution of the project will start in april 2010 and the work will take approximately six months to complete.The project involves widening and deepening of the access channel and the port basin, from an existing depth of 12.5 m to a depth of 15 m after completion. Van Oord will dredge about 3 million m3 of clay and silt, a large part will be dredged by trailing suction hopper dredger and the remaining part by large backhoe dredger. Furthermore the works include some 200,000 m3 of drilling and blasting of granite rock. This work will be carried out by Van Oord's subsidiary Wicks. The project facilitates the growing maritime transport in the region.1158Hydraulic backhoe dredger Simson was christened today at the Wilhelmina Quay in Rotterdam. The christening ceremony was performed by Mrs D. van Dam-van der Meer, wife of Mr Bart van Dam, who resigned as managing director of MerweOord (the Van Oord family business) on 1 December last. The Simson is a Backacter 1100 – a floating excavator with three spud poles fitted to a pontoon – and the largest category of hydraulic dredging crane in the world. It was designed and built in the Netherlands and will be used to dredge ports and provides services to the offshore industry worldwide.The vessel is moored alongside the Cruise Terminal next to Van Oord's newest trailing suction hopper dredger, the Vox Máxima. Today Van Oord is holding an ‘open house' in the terminal and on board the Vox Máxima for its employees and their families. A total of approximately 5,000 people will pay a visit to the vessel. The Simson is the sister ship of the Goliath, launched earlier this year. It will be equipped with a grab that holds 25 m3 of material and can work at a dredging depth of up to 26 m. The total installed engine power is more than 4,000 kW. Simson's first project will be dredging in the port of Flushing, the Netherlands. In total some 3 million m3 will be dredged. Apart from the Simson other equipment will be deployed as well. Van Oord has undertaken a major investment programme of more than EUR 1 billion. The Vox Máxima and the two backhoes are part of this programme. To download a high resolution photograph of the christening, please click here to go to our Download centre. You will find the photographs at the bottom of the page. Click here to see an impression of the christening and the 'open house'.  1150Following a successful period of cooperation and mutual enhancement, 'Hogeschool Rotterdam' and Van Oord have decided to formalise their arrangement contractually.Van Oord wishes to offer students at 'Hogeschool Rotterdam' the opportunity to gain international experience in the field, for example by conducting research (abroad), going on an internship (also abroad), or working on a company-specific problem. This knowledge transfer will lead to new incentives for students. In addition, having talented students around may also be inspiring for Van Oord's team of professionals. 'Hogeschool Rotterdam' offers Van Oord the opportunity to raise its profile among students enrolled at the Institute for Financial Management and to demonstrate its advantages as an employer, for example by participating in Business Days, case studies and International Weeks. Van Oord will also contribute to teaching by giving guest lectures and organising student tours of its operations. In consultation with Van Oord, the partnership can be extended to include other institutes, such as EAS (Engineering and Applied Science) and COM (Commercial Management).1137Van Oord has taken on the job of dredging the harbour of Suape, Brazil. The contract value amounts to some EUR 35 million. The client is Suape Complexo Industrial Portuario Governador Eraldo Gueiros, port operator and public institution of the state of Pernambuco. Execution of the project will start mid December 2009 and will take six months to complete.The project involves dredging of the access to the shipyard Atlantico Sul in the harbour of Suape. Van Oord will dredge six million cubic metres, two million cubic metres of which will be reclaimed. The other four million cubic metres will be discharged at sea. Van Oord will deploy cutter suction dredger Hercules and trailing suction hopper dredger HAM 309 sailing under Brazilian flag. This new project enhances Van Oord's position in South America. This is Van Oord's second award in Brazil within two months. The company has been active in Brazil since 1985. In October Van Oord took on the job of deepening the harbour of Rio de Janeiro with a contract value of EUR 45 million. Van Oord offers solutions by creating new ports, constructing port facilities and maintaining harbour basins.1135Van Oord has taken on the job of deepening the harbour of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The contract value amounts to some EUR 45 million. The client is a ministry set up specifically to keep Brazil’s ports accessible for larger ships. Execution of the project will commence in 2010 and take almost a year to complete.Van Oord will dredge more than 4 million m3 of material in the access channel and harbour, ranging from soft clay to mudstone. The company will deploy a mid-sized trailing suction hopper dredger, its new backhoe Goliath, and two new self-propelled split barges, each one with a hopper capacity of 2,850 m3. This new project enhances Van Oord's position in South America. Brazil, where the company has been active since 1985, is one of Van Oord's home markets. In recent years it has also undertaken projects in Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico and Venezuela. The growth of the world population and the global economy is driving the worldwide expansion of the maritime transport. In order to accommodate increasingly large merchant vessels with larger drafts, port authorities are having to expand and deepen their harbours. Van Oord offers solutions by creating new ports, constructing port facilities and maintaining harbour basins.1124Van Oord has taken on a series of projects in the Middle East with an overall value of EUR 130 million.In the United Arab Emirates Van Oord is executing dredging work in Ras al Khaimah as part of preparations for the 33rd America's Cup. This prestigious sailing competition will take place in Ras al Khaimah in 2010. The client is the government of Ras al Khaimah. Client Meraas has contracted Van Oord to supply sand for the construction of the artificial island Pearl Jumeirah in Dubai. The island will be residential. In Abu Dhabi, Van Oord is dredging part of the Mussafah channel and performing beach replenishment work on the Abu Dhabi Corniche for local company NMDC. Once more Van Oord is involved in the Sohar port expansion project in Oman. Van Oord's work consists of dredging an access channel and harbour basin. The client is SIDC, a joint venture between the local government and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. Van Oord has also been subcontracted to work on the expansion of Muscat International Airport. The client is Oman's Ministry of Transport and Communications. Outside the Emirates and Oman Van Oord has also been awarded projects in Kuwait and Jordan. In Kuwait, Van Oord has signed a five-year contract with the Kuwait government to remove siltation in front of the cooling-water intake channel of Subiya Power Station. By dredging salt reefs in the Dead Sea, Van Oord is allowing water to flow more freely so that its client, the Arab Potash Company, can extract the raw materials it needs to produce artificial fertilizer. Van Oord is active in eight Middle Eastern countries this year. Its activities are contributing to the economic development of the various regions. Van Oord's 4,500 highly committed employees worldwide are working hard on tomorrow's solutions - solutions designed to meet the challenges of climate change, the global transport of goods and the demand for oil and gas. Van Oord's core activities are dredging, coastal construction and offshore services. Its expertise and skill set the standard in such prestigious projects as The Palm and The World in Dubai and the major extension of the port of Rotterdam, Maasvlakte 2, in the Netherlands.   1116Van Oord’s latest backhoe Goliath was present on the World Port Days in Rotterdam on 4, 5 and 6 September last. Visitors were given the opportunity to win prizes by answering the question: how many footballs can Goliath’s twenty m2 grab hold? The answer is 2,670.Philip Rekkers' answer of 2.612 was closest. He wins a four person visit to Van Oord's latest trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Máxima on 19 December next in Rotterdam. Theo Roeling and Dirk Hubers have won tickets to the Rotterdam Port Experience. The tickets to the National Dredging Museum have been won by Simone and Mario Visser. We wish all winners a nice day.1113The Dutch research programme Flow is intended to give the Netherlands the lead in offshore wind energy. Plans have been drawn up for a demonstration wind farm located 75 km off the coast of Callantsoog, in the Province of Noord-Holland.Flow stands for Far and Large Offshore Wind and was launched by a consortium consisting of energy companies (Eneco), wind turbine producers (XEMC Darwind, 2-B Energy), offshore industry contractors (Van Oord, Ballast Nedam, IHC Merwede), wind farm developers (RWE), research institutes (ECN, TU Delft) and Tennet, the company that manages the Dutch electricity grid. The plan was presented to Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Minister of Economic Affairs Maria van der Hoeven on 2 September. Flow is intended to give the Dutch wind energy sector a leading position in offshore wind energy. It involves a major research programme focusing on foundation technology and other topics. The most striking element of the programme, however, will be a demonstration wind farm located 75 km off the coast of Callantsoog in the Province of Noord-Holland. This will be the first wind farm constructed in deep water (30 to 35 m). It will have twenty to sixty wind turbines with a total output of up to 300 MW. That means that the Flow wind farm will generate twice as much electricity as the wind farms currently operated by Eneco and Nuon/Shell. For more information: http://www.flow-windpark.nl/1110Van Oord’s backhoe Goliath became operational today. The Goliath is a Backacter 1100 – an excavator with three spud poles fitted to a pontoon – and the largest category of hydraulic dredging crane in the world. It will be used to dredge ports and provides services to the offshore industry worldwide.The vessel's maiden trial will be in the port of Rotterdam. The Goliath will be moored along Parkkade during Rotterdam's World Port Days on 4, 5 and 6 September next. The Goliath can be equipped with a grab that holds 25 to 40 m3 of material (the size of an average student's lodgings) and can work at a dredging depth of up to 26 m. It has a total power output of 5000 HP, comparable to fifty large automobiles. Van Oord is building a second Backacter 1100, named the Simson. The two vessels are part of the company's EUR 1 billion investment programme for 2007-2011. The Simson will be operational before the end of 2009. The two new backhoes will enhance Van Oord's position in the dredging market. The vessels can work in locations that are difficult to reach and are suitable for dredging trenches and working in hard soil.1105Van Oord has been awarded the dredging contract for the deepening of a channel in Hazira, India. The contract value amounts to EUR 36 million. Client is Essar Bulk Terminals Ltd, an Essar Steel company. Execution of the project starts in September 2009 and the project is scheduled for completion in May 2010.Hazira lies 310 km north of India's financial capital Mumbai. Van Oord will dredge a 4.5 km long channel to a terminal. The material dredged from the channel will be reclaimed on two different locations. Van Oord will deploy two heavy cutter suction dredgers to execute the project in between monsoons of 2009 - 2010. The channel will contribute to the economic development of the area by facilitating the growth of Steel Industries and maritime transport of steel products.1101The first piece of steel for Van Oord’s new large-scale self-propelled cutter suction dredger has been ceremonially cut at the IHC Merwede yard in Kinderdijk. Michel Twigt, Van Oord project team manager, performed the ceremony. The cutter will be operational in late October 2011.The ceremony marks the start of the vessel's construction after detailed engineering. The vessel - which will have an overall length of 129 m, a beam of 27.80 m, and total installed power of 24,000 kW - will be one of the most powerful and modern cutter suction dredgers in the world and the biggest cutter in the Van Oord fleet. A name will be selected in the next few months. ‘Expanding our fleet with our first self-propelled cutter suction dredger is an important step for Van Oord,' says Pieter van Oord, CEO. 'Building this cutter suction dredger will reinforce our position in this key segment. This investment completes our EUR 1 billion investment programme for 2007 - 2011. Click here for photographs1093Van Oord has been awarded the contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of the first part of the Belwind offshore wind farm project. The wind farm will be constructed on the Blight Bank, 46 km off the coast of Zeebrugge, Belgium. The developper and client is Belwind nv. A number of Dutch and Belgian investment companies are shareholders in Belwind. The contract value amounts to some EUR 280 million and is Van Oord’s largest award this year. Execution has already started. The project is scheduled for completion in November 2010.Pieter van Oord, CEO of Van Oord: ‘Since 2002 Van Oord has been involved in building offshore wind farms in North West Europe. This is Van Oord's second EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract. Earlier we completed the Princess Amalia wind farm project off the coast of IJmuiden, the Netherlands. Our knowledge and experience is concentrated in our business unit Offshore Wind Projects (OWP). The award of the Belwind project confirms our leading role as EPC contractor in North West Europe. The activities involve the construction of the foundation of 55 wind turbines, all infield, subsea cables in between the wind farms, the subsea export cable, a 165 Mega Watt offshore high voltage station and placement of 55 turbines. As of 2011 the first phase of the Belwind project will annually provide 165,000 families with environment-friendly power.1078Van Oord has been awarded two project contracts to reinforce coastal defences in the Netherlands. The contracts involve a total sum of approximately EUR 48 million, with Van Oord’s activities accounting for around EUR 24 million.The first project involves sand suppletion along the coast in the Voorne region, where trailing suction hopper dredgers will deposit more than 2.2 million m3 of sand. The client is the Hollandse Delta Water Board. The project is scheduled to be completed in spring 2010. The second project involves reinforcing the coastal defences in Zeeland (Zeeuws-Vlaanderen region) and sand suppletion at Nolle-Westduin (in the Walcheren region). More than 3 million m3 of sand will be deposited on the foreshore and beaches of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. The dunes at Nolle-Westduin will be reinforced, with 550,000 m3 of sand being carried from the sea over the dunes and deposited on the landward side. The client is the Department of Public Works and Water Management. The project will be completed before the end of this year. Van Oord has joined forces with Boskalis on both projects, which are part of the Public Works' ‘Weak Links' (‘Zwakke Schakels') programme. So-called Weak Links are sections of coast that will need to be reinforced before 2020 in order to satisfy hinterland flood safety requirements in the event of a rise in sea level or an increase in storm frequency, and to meet new wave boundary conditions. Van Oord finished reinforcing the Hondsbossche and Pettemer coastal defence this spring. It is currently reinforcing the Delfland Coast between Hoek van Holland and Scheveningen-Zuid. The work on this Weak Link must be completed by late 2011.1058Van Oord has been awarded a contract for the Baydaratskaya Bay Crossing project in Baydaratskaya Bay on the Yamal Peninsula in the Russian Federation. The client is the Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom. The contract involves dredging a trench for an offshore pipeline and backfilling of the trench with previously excavated material in order to stabilise and protect the pipeline.The work is part of the Yamal Megaproject. This project involves the development of infrastructure to transport gas from the Bovanenkovskoye gas field to the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia via the Bovanenko-Ukhta gas pipeline system, now under construction. Russia's MRTS (Mezh Region Truboprovod Stroy) is the main contractor for the pipeline installation. Van Oord will work for MRTS as a subcontractor. Van Oord previously deployed trailing suction hopper dredger Utrecht at this location. The ‘working window' is limited due to ice conditions and navigation is possible only for a brief period between late July and late October. This year, Van Oord will be deploying the Utrecht and a second trailing suction hopper dredger, the Geopotes 15. The Yamal Megaproject is an important development for Gazprom. It is anticipated that various pipelines will be installed in the Yamal area in the next few years.1056On 14 May 2009, at the General Meeting of Shareholders it was decided to change the composition of the Supervisory Board.After a long career with Van Oord, J.G. (Koos) van Oord stepped down from the Supervisory Board. From 1984 to 1994 he was chairman of the Board of Management of Van Oord ACZ and subsequently - up to the end of 2003 - president of the Supervisory Board. In 2004 he was appointed as a member of the Supervisory Board of Van Oord nv. Jac.G. (Koos) van Oord was appointed to succeed his uncle J.G. van Oord as a member of the Supervisory Board. Jac.G. van Oord was chairman of the Executive Board of Van Oord ACZ from 1995 to 2003 and since 2004 chairman of the Executive Board of Van Oord nv. Having reached retirement age he said farewell to the company in November 2008 and handed over his responsibilities as chairman to his cousin P.(Pieter) van Oord. Mr. R.O. (Roelof) Prins of NPM Capital stepped down as member of the Supervisory Board owing to a change in his work. He is succeeded by Mr. J.W. (Jan Willem) Baud, director with NPM Capital. The composition of the Supervisory Board is now: Mr. C.J. van den Driest, president and the members: Mr. K. Damen, Mr. Jac.G. van Oord, Mr. W. van Vonno Ph.D. and Mr. J.W. Baud.1042Van Oord has won a contract to design and construct the underwater slope protection along the natural channels in the Eastern Scheldt and Western Scheldt estuaries. The work will mainly involve installing steel and phosphorous slag and quarry rock.In addition to price, other decisive factors during the tender procedure were the reusability of the materials and the durability of the structure beyond fifty years. Van Oord achieved the maximum score on these points. The contract involves a sum of more than EUR 9 million. The customer is the Department of Public Works and Water Management for Zeeland. The work has already begun and the project should be completed by mid-2010. Van Oord will be deploying its own split barges as well as crane ships and a special rock-placing vessel owned by subsidiary L. Paans and Zonen.1038After almost 38 years with Van Oord, John van Herwijnen (62) has resigned as managing director under the company’s articles of association in order to take retirement. Van Herwijnen celebrated his departure with business relations and colleagues on 7 May.In his final position at Van Oord, Van Herwijnen was responsible for the company's activities in the Netherlands and Europe. One of the highlights of his long career was the award of the Maasvlakte 2 Port of Rotterdam expansion project. As of 1 May 2009, Van Oord's Executive Board consists of Pieter van Oord (CEO), Arjan van de Kerk (CFO) and Peter de Ridder (COO).1035Maincontractor UTE Dique Torres has awarded the reclamation contract for the extension of the port of Gijón to Van Oord via its Spanish subsidiary Dravosa. Client is the Autoridad Portuaria de Gijón. Completion of the project is scheduled in 2010. The total contract value amounts to approximately EUR 65 million; the Dravosa share accounts for 60%.The port expansion includes a land reclamation for a new transshipment facility for gas and bulk goods. Medium-sized trailing suction hopper dredgers will reclaim approximately 20 million m3 of sand. Execution of phase 1 of  the project will start in June and is scheduled for completion in September. Phase 2 starts in April 2010 and is scheduled for completion in September 2010. Through its 50% share in Dravosa Van Oord holds a strong position on the Spanish market for infrastructural projects. To meet the growing demand for goods Van Oord regularly executes port expansions and large scale port maintenance. For the tourist infrastructure in Spain beach replenishments are executed.1033Today, Van Oord’s latest trailing suction hopper dredger, Vox Máxima, was named and launched at the IHC Merwede yard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands officiated during the naming and launching accompanied by dignitaries including Dutch Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Mr. Camiel Eurlings, the Queen’s Commissioner for South-Holland, Mr. Jan Franssen, and national and international business relations of IHC Merwede and Van Oord.With a hopper capacity of 31,000 m³, Vox Máxima is the largest dredging vessel ever built in the Netherlands and is also the largest ship built in the country since 1990. Final construction will take place in the coming months. Vox Máxima will go into operation in late 2009. Van Oord's total investment programme amounts to approximately EUR 1 billion, EUR 840 million of which has already been allocated to new equipment projects. The construction of the vessel and an important part of the other investments represent a major boost for the Dutch economy. For pictures please go to our Download centre You can also find a short impression of the launch on our homepage.1025On the basis of an audit, Bureau Veritas certification agency has again certified Van Oord Nederland and its subsidiaries Mijnster, L. Paans & Zonen and business unit Wicks for the Safety, Health and Environment Contractors’ Checklist (SCC). The new certificate is valid for three years. The SCC is intended to achieve a safer and more healthy working environment and the SCC requirements therefore focus on preventing personal injury and avoiding damage to the environment.The SCC is a yardstick for management systems relating to the safety, health and environment of contracting companies in the Netherlands. The SCC system is managed by Cooperation for Safety (SSVV), an independent foundation. The SCC is intended for companies performing work involving an increased risk. This work is often performed in factories, plants and on sites and project locations. Examples include mechanical engineering activities, such as construction and maintenance work, structural work and vertical transport. The certification is in line with the aims of Van Oord to prevent accidents. Following the granting of the ISO 14001 environment certificate in early January 2009, this is the second certificate that Van Oord has received this year.1022The federal Wasser- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung, the manager of all German waterways, has, through its Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Cuxhaven department, awarded maintenance dredging works in the estuaries of the Elbe and Jade to a joint venture of which Brewaba, the German Van Oord subsidiary, forms part. The contract value is EUR 37 million, an important part of which will be executed by Brewaba. A six-month contract extension option forms part of the agreement.Using trailing suction hopper dredgers, the joint venture will undertake to maintain the Unter and Aussenelbe and Innen and Aussenjade waterways for large seagoing vessels for the period of one year. It is expected that 10 million m3 material from the Elbe channel and 4 million m3 material from the Jade channel will be removed. Depending on the hopper capacity of the trailing suction hopper dredgers deployed, two will be operational at the same time. Operations started on 1 April 2009. The maintenance dredging is an essential part of keeping various Northern German ports accessible to large seagoing vessels.1020Van Oord has been awarded the contract to construct a quay wall and a dock in Moerdijk (Rotterdam area), the Netherlands.The structure of the quay will consist of a 600 m sheetpile combi-wall with wing walls. The contract also includes dredging along the quay wall and excavating the dock. In total Van Oord will remove approximately 120,000 m3 of soil. The contract involves a sum of more than EUR 9 million. The client is the Moerdijk Port Authority. The work has already begun and the project should be completed by autumn 2009.1019Van Oord has agreed to act as main sponsor for the two-year climate project ‘The Green Miles’.From 15 March 2009 through December 2010, Arjen van Eijk and Florian Dirkse of the Netherlands will set sail on an adventure and produce a documentary targeted at raising awareness about the critical role oceans play in our world's climate. They will also be focusing on the impact of climate change on human beings. The two sailors will visit ocean-related climate projects around the world, headed by such leading organisations as the World Wildlife Fund, the Dutch Red Cross, and the Marine Stewardship Council. Their youthful enthusiasm will generate renewed interest in pollution at sea, the consequences of tourism, and overfishing. The National Geographic Channel will broadcast a documentary on the voyage to ensure that their story reaches a wider audience. Van Oord is supporting Arjen van Eijk and Florian Dirkse in their adventure, allowing the two sailors to concentrate on their ‘green' message. It is Van Oord's aim to work with The Green Miles project to make people more aware of the environment and the oceans. Bert Groothuizen, Van Oord's corporate marketing and PR manager: "By supporting The Green Miles climate project, we are emphasising how important it is to deal carefully with our earth and, more specifically, the maritime environment - which, after all, is Van Oord's area of operation. We also believe that Florian and Arjen are enterprising young men who have the courage to face up to challenges, who take responsibility, who respect the world we live in, and who show enormous team spirit. These are remarkable qualities that reflect the ‘One Team Van Oord' culture. That is why these two young adventurers are ideal ambassadors for Van Oord. We hope that they will have an opportunity during their round-the-world voyage to visit a number of Van Oord projects. We are active on all the continents, so we are confident that they will." The sponsorship agreement was concluded in close collaboration with Sportinnova - Sports and Leisure marketing bureau. The Green Miles also recently welcomed Europeesche Verzekeringen and Sinner Eyewear as sponsors through the efforts of Sportinnova.1016On Friday 24 April 2009, H.R.H. Princess Máxima of the Netherlands will officiate at the christening and launch of trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Máxima. Van Oord has the vessel built at the IHC Merwede yard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands.Measuring 203 m in length, 31 m in the beam and with a loading capacity of 31,200 m³, the Vox Máxima is the largest trailing suction hopper dredger ever built in the Netherlands. It will be launched immediately after the christening ceremony and then docked along the quay for further final construction. The vessel will be commissioned in late 2009 and deployed on major dredging projects worldwide.1000Higher turnover (EUR 1,896 million), 16% increase in net profits (EUR 190 million), lower turnover and profits forecast for 2009, financially healthy company, good order portfolio.Turnover, profits and order portfolioVan Oord's turnover rose to EUR 1,896 million in 2008 (2007: 1,652 million). Net profits were EUR 190 million (2007: EUR 164 million), a 16% increase. Expressed as a percentage of turnover, profitability remained stable at 10% of turnover. Our price levels were healthy in virtually every region, with employees and equipment working to full capacity throughout most of the year. We began to see signs of trouble in Dubai/Middle East region in the second half of 2008. By year-end, activities there had been cut back significantly. At 31 December 2008, our order portfolio stood at a healthy EUR 3,640 million (2007: EUR 3,725 million). The order portfolio includesEUR 1,877 million worth of projects slowed down by our client in Dubai. OrganisationNew governance modelWe made significant changes to our organisational structure in 2008. After Jac. G. van Oord stepped down as chairman of the Executive Board in November 2008, director J. van Herwijnen also resigned his operational tasks at the start of 2009, prior to his retirement on 1 May 2009. As of that date, the Executive Board will have three executive directors. We have also appointed a Management Committee, whose task is to take key operational and commercial decisions. The Management Committee consists of the three members of the Executive Board, six Area Directors and four Staff Directors. New business unitsIn 2008, we successfully completed our work on the Princess Amalia Wind Park in the Dutch North Sea. We also concluded a cooperation contract with Dutch Econcern to build four offshore wind farms in the North Sea. In mid-2008, we concentrated our knowledge and experience in this sector into a new business unit: Offshore Wind Projects (OWP). OWP will serve as a management contractor for wind farm construction projects. In late 2008, we merged our soil improvement activities in the Netherlands (Wicks bv) with our international vibrocompaction, vertical drainage, and drilling and blasting activities into a new business unit, Wicks. Wicks operates independently in the internal and external market. Our regions and projects in 2008Netherlands (EUR 186 million turnover)Van Oord was involved in a wide range of projects in its domestic market. These are clustered around 4 themes: coastal protection, river management, port expansion and infrastructure facilities. The Dutch market is increasingly working with Design and Construct and Performance contracts. In February 2008, the Rotterdam Port Authority awarded the Maasvlakte 2 port expansion project to a consortium in which Van Oord has a 50% stake. The project is now well under way. Other major projects were the cable link in the Westerscheldt, shore suppletion near Den Helder, deepening and widening the Meuse, constructing subterranean stations for the North/South Metro Line in Amsterdam, maintenance dredging in the North Sea Canal, and port expansion work at Autrichehaven in Flushing. Our subsidiaries were active in a number of specific market segments, such as small-scale dredging (Paans) and the sand and gravel trade (Mijnster). On 1 January 2009, our office in Belgium became part of Area Netherlands. The budgets available in the Belgian market are limited. The most important project there involved dredging the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal. Europe (EUR 205 million turnover)Our priorities in this region were the markets where we have permanent offices: the United Kingdom, Germany and North East Europe. The emphasis in the United Kingdom was on coastal protection, for example Lincshore, Happisburgh to Winterton, and Felixstowe. Another special project, the construction of a tunnel, was undertaken in Limerick, Ireland. Our subsidiary Brewaba was firmly positioned in the north German market for port and waterway maintenance, for example the Elbe, Cuxhaven and Wischhafen, and the construction of a fourth container terminal in Bremen. We managed our activities in Russia from our office in St Petersburg. In Kazakhstan, we were involved in constructing the port at Kuryk, and in Turkmenistan in dredging a canal. America, Mediterranean and Africa (EUR 135 million turnover)Our activities were widely distributed across the region. We have key branches in France, Spain, Italy, Nigeria and Brazil. We were involved in deepening the port of La Rochelle in France. In the Mediterranean we were involved in maintaining the ports of Huelva and Algeciras in Spain and Sfax and Gabes in Tunisia and are involved in beach replenishment in Tarragona and Cadiz in Spain. The Adagbakuja land reclamation project in Nigeria was completed. In Latin America, we carried out maintenance projects in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. In Venezuela, we worked on the access channel to Lake Maracaibo and on the Rio Orinoco. In Brazil, we carried out maintenance dredging work in various ports. Middle East (EUR 848 million turnover)We expanded our activities in this region to include vibrocompaction, the construction of quay walls, and drilling and blasting work. We worked on ten projects in Dubai in 2008, including the construction of Palm Deira, Dubai Promenade, Dubai Maritime City Ferry Terminal and the Arabian Canal. By the end of the year, the global economic crisis had impacted the Dubai projects, all of which were slowed down by our clients. The dip in activity has led us to cut down considerably on our organisation in Dubai. We were able to transfer our internationally deployable employees to projects elsewhere. Many of the local employees were made redundant. We were able to deploy most of the vessels elsewhere in the world. Our activities in the Middle East were not restricted to Dubai. The prestigious Sohar port development project in Oman was completed in late 2008 and the port will become operational in early 2009. We were involved in constructing a new port at Ras Laffan in Qatar. We also dredged salt reefs in the Dead Sea along the Jordanian coast and we are working on a new access channel there. Asia and Australia (EUR 281 million turnover)Our main branches are in India, Singapore, China and Australia. The growth of the maritime transport sector has played a significant role in expanding the market for marine engineering projects. Our activities in 2008 were concentrated mainly in India (maintenance dredging in the ports of Mumbai and Hazira and port construction in Dighi), Thailand (construction of an LNG terminal in Map Ta Phut) and Vietnam (construction of a large jetty at Dung Quat). The difference of opinion between Singapore and its neighbours about the supply of sand has still not been resolved. As a result little progress was made on our projects in Singapore. Local competitors were very active in China and Korea, but we were nevertheless involved in maintenance work in Lian Yun Gang (China) and the construction of loading and unloading buoys in Ulsan (Korea). In Australia, we worked on port expansion projects in Dampier and Brisbane and delivered industrial sand to Cockburn Cement in the northwest. Offshore (EUR 229 million turnover)Business was brisk for Van Oord in every relevant segment of the offshore industry in 2008. The volume of flexible fallpipe work was stable. We worked on Phase 2 of the Ormen Lange Field project, which involves installing a system of pipeline supports in the Norwegian territorial waters. We built an offshore SBM system in Constanta, Romania. We boosted our position in growth markets by undertaking a pipeline protection project in the sea bed at Varenday and by dredging a trench in Baydaratskaya Bay, both in Russia. In Australia, we dredged a trench and created a landfall for the Pluto pipeline in Dampier. In Korea, we dredged a trench for a pipeline in Ulsan. Offshore Wind Projects (EUR 12 million turnover)In 2008, we concluded an agreement with Dutch energy supplier Evelop, part of Econcern, to build four wind farms along the Belgian and German coasts. Van Oord will act as the management contractor for these projects. The contract covers the foundations and the electricity supply from the wind turbines. Altogether, the wind farms will generate a maximum output of 1,500 megawatts, enough to supply 1.5 million households with clean energy. International Ground Treatment (Wicks) In late 2008, we concentrated our worldwide vibrocompaction, vertical drainage and drilling and blasting activities into a new business unit, Wicks. Wicks will operate as an independent organisation and offer services to the other business units of Van Oord and external parties. This clustering of activities, knowledge and experience will enable us to expand our worldwide market position successfully. InvestmentWe undertook a EUR 1 billion investment programme in recent years. Of this budget, EUR 840 million has already been allocated to new equipment projects. A minor part of these projects has been completed. New equipment is being built in the Netherlands, Brazil and China. Trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Máxima is under construction at the IHC Dredgers yard in Kinderdijk. The vessel's hopper capacity will be 31,200 m3. The backacters Goliath and Simson are under construction at De Donge yard in Flushing. Both will be among the biggest vessels of their kind. The two backacters will be delivered in 2009. Flexible fallpipe vessel Stornes, which has a capacity of 27,000 tonnes, is under construction at the Raffles yard in Yantai, China. The Stornes is scheduled for completion in late 2009. The renovation of the HAM 318, which involved adding a mid-section block, was completed in 2008. The work was carried out at the Cosco yard in Dalian, China. The HAM 318 now has a 37,500 m3 hopper capacity, making it the largest operational trailing suction hopper dredger in the world. It has been deployed in Dubai since the summer of 2008. We also have six sand transport barges under construction in Dalian, with a hopper capacity of 10,000 m3 each. They will be delivered some time in 2009. Four self-propelled split barges, named after famous Dutch maritime engineers Jan Blanken, Jan Leeghwater, Pieter Caland and Cornelis Lely, are under construction at a yard in Dalian, China. The vessels, which will have a hopper capacity of 2,850 m3, will be commissioned in 2009. We had two water-injection vessels under construction in Brazil in 2008. One of these, the Draga Tocatins, has been commissioned. The Draga Rio Madeira will follow in mid-2009. In September 2008, we placed an order for a large, self-propelled cutter suction dredger. The new vessel will be one of the largest cutter suction dredgers in the world. It will be constructed at IHC Dredgers in Kinderdijk and is scheduled for completion in the autumn of 2011. Financing The available lines of credit come to a total of EUR 453 million with a remaining term to maturity ranging from three to eight years. The total sum taken out in loans is EUR 213 million. The interest rate risk on the available credit lines has been covered on the futures market, based on the anticipated drawdown periods in the years ahead. Cash at bank and in hand came to EUR 166 million at year-end. Our company is financially healthy. The credit lines are more than sufficient to cover the current investment programme. With solvency standing at 35% and our capital base at 38% of total assets, the company's financial basis is sound. Prospects The world economy is in a deep recession. At this point, it is impossible to make reliable forecasts about the year ahead. We expect lower turnover and profits in 2009. It will be a challenge to deploy the people and equipment no longer needed in Dubai on projects elsewhere in the world. In addition to our sound financial structure, we have a flexible organisation made up of individuals who are used to dealing creatively and efficiently with changing market circumstances. More than anything else, this makes us feel confident about the future. The General Meeting of Shareholders will take place on 14 May 2009. Enclosure: key figures 2008 For more informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com.999Van Oord has been awarded a contract for dredging a navigation channel in the River Niger. The river must be made navigable during the dry and wet seasons from Warri at the Atlantic coast to the train terminal in Baro in Central Nigeria.President Yar Adua of Nigeria announced Nigeria's economy will rank in the top 20 of the world by the year 2020. In order to realise this national ambition the government has launched seven spearhead policies and one special project, a navigation channel in the River Niger. Van Oord will dredge 226 km of the total length of this project from 550 km. The project is split up in two phases and will run for three years. The first phase comprises of capital dredging and construction of groynes and installation of hundreds of navigation buoys. More than 500,000 tonnes of rock have to be handled. The second phase is scheduled to be two years maintenance dredging after completion of the first phase. Two cutter suction dredgers will be working together on the project. The total contract value amounts to EUR 125 million. The project ends at Baro. From here vessels can sail further upstream thanks to the presence of large dams and sluices in the upper Niger River. Once the 550 km of the lower River Niger is navigable, Van Oord contributed to boost maritime transport in Nigeria. Vessels may sail with this service from the ports at the Atlantic Ocean even far into neighbouring country Niger.998Van Oord’s backhoe dredger Goliath was christened at a ceremony conducted on 24 January 2009 at the Van Oord yard in Moerdijk, the Netherlands. The hydraulic dredger, type Backacter 1100 fitted, on a ponton with three spuds, is the largest hydraulic dredger in the world.The Goliath was designed and built in the Netherlands and will be deployed in dredging operations in harbours and the offshore industry worldwide. Mrs. Lisette van Herwijnen, wife of Van Oord managing director John van Herwijnen, did the honours. The ceremony was attended by more than a thousand guests and Van Oord employees. The Goliath can be equipped with a bucket of 25 to 40 m³ (similar to the size of an average student's lodgings) and can work at a dredging depth of up to 26 metres. It has a total installed power of 5,000 HP, comparable to fifty large automobiles. Van Oord undertakes a major investment programme of more than EUR 800 million. The investment programme also includes construction of a second backhoe dredger, the largest trailing suction hopper dredger ever built in the Netherlands, the largest flexible fallpipe vessel in the world, a heavy-duty self-propelled cutter suction dredger, six 10,000 m³ sand transport barges and four self-propelled seagoing split barges with a hopper capacity of 2,500 m³ each.796Managing Director Pieter van Oord has taken receipt of the ISO 14001 environmental certificate, which was presented to him by a representative of Lloyd’s Register EMEA. The ISO 14001 environmental certificate is confirmation of Van Oord’s sustainable and environmentally responsible approach to its projects, offices and vessels worldwide. ‘We are proud that our continuous quality improvement efforts have been recognised,’ commented Pieter van Oord.The award of this certificate sends a clear signal to the public that sustainable development is a major motivation in the Van Oord’s dredging and infrastructure projects worldwide. ‘There’s a good reason why Van Oord is a member of the consortium working on the Port of Rotterdam expansion project, Maasvlakte 2,’ says Pieter van Oord. ‘It's a project in which various environmental factors play an important role. Van Oord is also one of the initiators of Building with Nature, an innovative research programme aimed at exploring the ecological impact of marine construction projects.’ By awarding Van Oord its quality label, Lloyd's has confirmed the company’s ongoing efforts to improve its operational processes by applying standardised procedures, training its employees, and mobilising resources to manage environmental aspects. Van Oord will monitor compliance with the ISO 14001 environmental certificate by performing internal and external audits.707Van Oord Offshore signed the Subcontract for the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline Project (ADCOP) - Offshore Pipeline and Facility. The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline will originate from Habshan in Abu Dhabi and terminate in Fujairah, both located in the United Arab Emirates. The pipeline has been designed to transport 1.5 Million Barrels of Crude Oil Per Day (MMBPD) from the Company for Onshore Oil Operations Facilities (ADCO) over a distance of approximately 370 km to the Main Oil Terminal for export through the Offshore Loading Facilities.The Subcontract is awarded for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of the Offshore Works. The works include the offshore installation of 3 pipelines with a total length of approximately 13 km and 3 Single Point Mooring Systems (SPM's). All three pipelines need trenching and backfilling. The project will be executed in joint venture with Bluewater who will supply the SPM's and associated engineering. The execution of the works shall take place in 2009 and will be completed by the second quarter of 2010. The Ultimate Client is the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and the Main Contractor is the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC).873Van Oord has deepened the navigable channel of the North Sea Canal. Now large ocean-going vessels can once again pass each other on their way to and from the port of Amsterdam. A total of four million cubic metres of silt was dredged from the North Sea Canal. The project took four years to complete and ensures that ships have easier and safer access to the ports. Removing the polluted silt has also improved the canal’s rare brackish aquatic environment.The North Sea Canal is part of the main shipping route leading to northern and western Europe. It also drains excess water from much of the central and western regions of the Netherlands. The canal’s brackish aquatic environment is of major ecological value. The natural banks at Zuiderpolder and Spaarnwoude are mutually reinforcing, for example, and offer transport corridors for local flora and fauna. In addition to dredging, Van Oord has improved access and safety for shipping in other ways. In 2007, it shortened the spit of land of Middensluis Island by 500 metres, so that ships can quickly and safely manoeuvre to and from the North Sea Locks. Working with the Port of Amsterdam, Van Oord also removed an embankment at Zaandam that had survived the demolition of the Hemspoor Bridge and had proved to be a nuisance for ships. The clean silt dredged from the North Sea Canal was deposited into the North Sea (1,555,000 m3). Slightly polluted silt was stored in pits excavated especially for that purpose in the bottom of the Canal (1 million m3). The sand (1.6 million m3) removed to create these pits was used to widen the A2 motorway. More heavily polluted dredging spoil – class 3 – was transported to dredging spoil disposal site De Slufter in Rotterdam (455,000 m3). All work was contracted by the Department of Public Works and Water Management. Van Oord used a wide variety of equipment, including a suction dredger, a cutter suction hopper dredger, various trailing suction hopper dredgers and crane vessels, and dry earth-moving equipment.872Dike warden Mr M.A.P. van Haersma Buma (Delfland Dike and Polder Board), chief engineer-managing director Mr F.M. Post (Directorate-General of Public Works for Zuid-Holland), provincial executive councillor Ms H.M.C. Dwarshuis-van de Beek (Province of Zuid-Holland) and managing director Mr J. Kloet (Van Oord Nederland) joined local residents and stakeholders for the official launch of the dune construction works. The event, held on Friday 7 November 2008 at ‘Slag Vlugtenburg’ in ‘s-Gravenzande, signalled the start of the Delfland Coast project.The Delfland Coast Consortium (Van Oord and Boskalis) began laying a pressure pipeline on the beach of Hoek van Holland this month. The pipeline will start pumping sand in late November/early December 2008 in order to create new dunes between Hoek van Holland and ’s-Gravenzande. The dunes will compensate for the loss of nature arising from the Maasvlakte 2 port expansion project. Work on the new nature reserve is scheduled to be completed by late March 2009. It will take ten to twenty years before the nature reserve has fully matured. The Consortium will then continue the work of reinforcing the ‘weak link’ in the Delfland coastal defences, working through the spring and summer of 2009 along the coast to the south and north of Ter Heijde. The work will continue on the beach at Ter Heijde and the beaches to the south of The Hague between October 2009 and late 2011. Work will proceed only in the autumn and winter. The entire project should be completed by late 2011, safeguarding the Delfland coast for the next fifty years. Van Oord will be deploying trailing suction hopper dredgers on the project. The client for this project is the Delfland Coast Project Office, a partnership between DG Public Works and the Delfland Dike and Polder Board.871Van Oord’s shareholders appointed managing director P. (Pieter) van Oord (47) as the CEO of the company on 6 November 2008. Mr Van Oord succeeds his cousin Jac.G. (Koos) van Oord (62), who is retiring.Koos van Oord has a 37-year track record with the company, in which the Van Oord family owns a 51% interest. He served as the chairman of its board of management from 1995 to 2008. During this time, Van Oord grew from a medium-sized company with a turnover of EUR 180 million to one of the global leaders in its market, with a turnover of almost EUR 2 billion. Pieter van Oord studied economics at University of Amsterdam. After obtaining his degree, he worked for Van Ommeren (Vopak) in the United States for a number of years. He joined Van Oord fourteen years ago and lived and worked in both the United Kingdom and Dubai. He also headed Van Oord’s worldwide offshore activities. He was appointed to Van Oord’s board of management in 2007. ‘Our company will continue along its chosen path,’ said Pieter van Oord. ’We are investing EUR 1 billion in new equipment, tangible proof that we are confident about the future.’ Van Oord’s board of management consists of P. (Pieter) van Oord (chairman), A.J. (Arjan) van de Kerk, P.H.G. (Peter) de Ridder and J. (John) van Herwijnen, who will be retiring on 1 May 2009.870On Friday 3 October, the Dutch State Secretary for Transport and Water Management and the Queen’s Commissioner for the Province of Limburg presided over the official launch of the Border Meuse project, due to be one of the biggest river flood defence projects in the Netherlands.The Border Meuse project encompasses a 43-km stretch of river between Maastricht and Roosteren in the province of Limburg. The flood defence works will be combined with the development of approximately a thousand hectares of nature conservation land, financed by proceeds from the sale of 53 million tonnes of gravel extracted from the river. Once the Border Meuse project is finished, the villages located along the South Limburg stretch of the Meuse will have five times the protection against flooding that they now have. When the work is finished in 2017, the risk of flooding will drop from an average of once every 50 years to once every 250 years. The river Meuse will be given more room by lowering its banks and floodplain, thereby widening the channel. The excavated soil will be used to fill in the gravel pits. The Border Meuse project will involve moving a total of 80 million tonnes of soil. The project partners include Van Oord Nederland and other companies as well as the Netherlands Society for the Preservation of Nature, all united in the Consortium Grensmaas B.V. The Maaswerken organisation, part of the Department of Public Works and Water Management, will monitor the consortium’s compliance with its contractual obligations on behalf of the public authorities.869Today was the official opening of the dredging spoil disposal site in the Hollandsch Diep, a section of river linked to the Rhine and the Meuse. The Dutch Department of Public Works can now store polluted dredging spoil from the lower reaches of the rivers at the site. Forecasts are that it will be twenty years before the site is full. At that point, it will contain an estimated 10 million m3 of polluted sediment. Once the site is full, it will be covered with clean soil and turned into a nature area.The Sassenplaat Consortium, of which Van Oord Nederland is a member, began working on the design for the dredging spoil disposal site in December 2005. The consortium partners spent the next two and a half years digging the site – which measures 1300 m in length and 500 m in width – next to Sassenplaat Island, a nature reserve. They also constructed dykes and grounds for facilities. At about 32 m depth, the site can store approximately 10.2 million m3 of spoil. In addition to the site construction, the project also involved expanding the Sassenplaat nature reserve, replenishing the Hoogezandsche Gorzen mud flats and covering 590 hectares of polluted bed. The opening ceremony was performed by Bert Keijts (Director-General of the Department of Public Works) and Johan Kloet (Director of Van Oord Nederland).868The Natuurlijk Afsluitdijk consortium can go on developing its vision alongside three other remaining consortiums. Wubbo Ockels, Royal Haskoning, BAM, Van Oord, Eneco, Lievense and Rabobank are the Natuurlijk Afsluitdijk consortium. ‘We’re happy with the steering group’s decision and the evaluations by the College van Rijksadvies, the Innovation Platform and the Afsluitdijk Advisory Committee, and we’re going to develop our plans over the coming months. Our objective is to launch a specific, achievable and affordable proposal for a public private partnership. We see the Afsluitdijk as an icon of water management, sustainable development in energy, storage, mobility and innovation, and a structural social link to the North,’ says Professor Wubbo J. Ockels, the man behind the consortium.Aside from the improvement to safety, the important criteria in the assessment were the integration of landscape, nature and technology, innovation, the guarantee of sustainability, climate proofing and economic strengthening of the dyke and the integrated approach. The integrated plan for the Natuurlijk Afsluitdijk presents opportunities for sustainable energy production and storage, for aquaculture, recreation, new mobility and a link to the northern regions via the ‘North Sea Line’. The plan for this ‘Innovation Area’ could mean a continual incentive and challenge. The Advisory Committee thinks that ‘the Natuurlijk Afsluitdijk consortium’s vision contains a number of surprising and inspiring elements’. The consortium will be making use of the next few months to work out and underpin the cost specifications and the coherence of the vision. The vision for the area and the spatial value of the monumental Afsluitdijk will form part of this. By order of the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Public Works’ State Secretary Tineke Huizinga, the Directorate-General of Waterways and Public Works (Rijkswaterstaat) is collaborating with the provinces of Friesland and North Holland on the future investigation into the Afsluitdijk. In the investigation, which started last year, ideas and possibilities are being sought for a new use for the Afsluitdijk. The detailed proposals will lead to a recommendation which will be presented to the State Secretary early next year.867Van Oord commissioned the construction of a large self-propelled cutter suction dredger. The new vessel will be one of the largest cutter suction dredgers in the world. The vessel will be built at IHC Dredgers in Kinderdijk and delivery is scheduled for the autumn of 2011.With a total installed power of some 24,000 kW, the vessel is equipped with two on-board dredge pumps and one submerged dredge pump on the cutter ladder. The maximum dredging depth is 28 metres. Its length over all is approximately 130 metres and its beam is 27.8 metres. The accommodation can house 44 people.  The cutter suction dredger is characterised by its high level of reliability and its robust construction. In addition to state-of-the-art components and materials, a large number of innovative and sustainable systems are also used: New-generation hydraulic flexible spud carriage to increase workability IHC Cutter Special pumps for excellent suction power and efficient mixture transport Flexibly designed engines and a flexibly designed deck house to provide comfort in the accommodation and wheelhouse Environmentally friendly systems and accreditations, including the "green passport" The vessel complies in all respects with the latest, more stringent regulations on emissions. IHC Merwede is also building a new, very large trailing suction hopper dredger for Van Oord: the 32,000 m³ VOX DUBAI. The vessel is due to be launched in 2009. Van Oord has undertaken a major investment programme of more than EUR 1 billion. ‘A heavy-duty, self-propelled cutter suction dredger will be an important addition to our fleet,’ says managing director Pieter van Oord. ‘As a leading international dredging company, we are expanding our activities in the heavy cutter suction dredger market. Global long-term demographics and economic growth are leading to a growing demand for new land, ports and navigable waterways. It’s no wonder that Van Oord has a well-filled order book.866Van Oord and Boskalis have formed the Delfland Coast Consortium for a project involving the reinforcement of the Delfland coastal defences and the creation of a nature reserve along the Delfland coast. The consortium signed the contract in the Zeetoren in Hoek van Holland on Tuesday 2 September 2008. The client is the Directorate-General for Water Management, which is also acting on behalf of the Water Board for Delfland. The dredging companies are expected to start pumping the sand for the nature reserve between Hoek van Holland and ’s-Gravenzande in mid-November. The new dunes and beach are expected to be completed at the beginning of March 2009. The consortium will then start reinforcing the coast between ’s-Gravenzande and the harbour at Scheveningen by constructing new dunes and widening the beach in an operation that is due to continue until 2011. This method of ‘building with nature’ was recommended by the Delta Commission in its advisory report ‘Working Together with Water’, which it presented to the government on 3 September. This method of operation has significant added value for society.The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management has commissioned the creation of the nature reserve to compensate for the anticipated detrimental effects arising from the use of Maasvlakte 2, the new area of Rotterdam port on which construction has just started. “We are already starting to compensate for the loss of nature. By the time that Maasvlakte 2 is in full operation the area will have evolved into a humid dune valley with valuable flora and fauna, which will ensure that on balance no nature is lost”, said Richard van Breukelen, who signed the contract on behalf of the Directorate-General. Deputy director Eppe Nieuwenhuis, who attended the contract signing for the Water Board of Delfland, stressed the importance of safety. “On completion of the work the coast between Hoek van Holland and the harbour at Scheveningen will be safeguarded for the coming fifty years. But people must also be able to relax in safety in the dunes, on the beach and in the sea during the operation.“ According to Johan Kloet, managing director of Van Oord Nederland bv, the project is in safe hands with the Delfland Coast Consortium: “In order to minimise the disruption for people in the vicinity we will work on the busiest stretches of the shore only in the autumn and winter. And we will plan the work carefully in close consultation with the relevant parties.” New website The Delfland Coast project office recently launched a new website www.delflandsekust.nl The website will keep people informed about the progress of the work. Members of the public can also subscribe for a digital newsletter which will be sent to them automatically by e-mail.  The photo shows Mr Kloet signing the contract for Van Oord.865With the press of a button, Mayor Ivo Opstelten set in motion the sand-spraying operation for Maasvlakte 2. This, in turn, was the starting signal for this expansion of the port of Rotterdam. “An historic day for our mainport. After 15 years of making plans, discussion and procedures, we are now making a start on this urgently needed port expansion”, says Opstelten. “Maasvlakte 2 is important for our economy and for our prosperity. But Maasvlakte 2 also symbolises the vitality of Dutch logistics, industry and hydraulic engineering. These all come together in this project”, according to Hans Smits, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO.The Port Authority will bear the costs and risks of building Maasvlakte 2. 40% of the space on Maasvlakte 2 has already been let to various container terminals. At the beginning of this year, a contract worth €1.1 billion was signed with dredgers Boskalis and Van Oord, to perform the first phase of the land reclamation. In total, the project will cost € 3 billion. The first ship is due to dock in the new harbour in 2013. The project will increase the port of Rotterdam by 20%. All construction permits have been granted. Some objections have been lodged against two of these, but they have not lead to any new points of view. The Port of Rotterdam Authority’s ambition is to make Maasvlakte 2 the most sustainable port area. As a consequence, it has, for instance, made far-reaching agreements with the companies planning to set up business there, particularly regarding the transport of more containers by rail and inland shipping and fewer by road. But the construction itself is also extremely responsible from the perspective of nature and the environment. In the coming years, the Port Authority will, for example, be keeping a keen eye on the impact the construction has on the ecosystem in the North Sea. In recent years, a lot of energy has gone into research and the making of agreements between numerous authorities, interest groups and the Port Authority. It has been agreed with all ministries involved, the province, the municipality, the business community and four environmental organisations that, for the next 25 years, parties will jointly monitor the effects of Maasvlakte 2 on the environment, whether or not all agreements made are observed and if they perhaps require modification. Maasvlakte 2 is part of the Rotterdam Mainport Development Project (PMR), the aim of which is to boost both the economy and the quality of life. At the same time as Maasvlakte 2, including ecological compensation, 750 hectares of new, extra space for nature will be created around Rotterdam and a series of projects will be implemented under the heading Existing Rotterdam Area, to enhance the quality of life and make more intensive use of the existing port.864The HAM 318 extension project has been completed. The vessel now has a 37,293 m³ hopper capacity, making it the largest operational trailing suction hopper dredger in the world.The project was executed at the COSCO shipyard in China. A mid-ship section measuring 52 metres and incorporating about 4,500 tonnes of steel has increased the HAM 318’s length to 228 metres. The vessel’s hopper capacity has increased from 23,783 m³ to 37,293 m³. After its extension, HAM 318 returned to the Middle East, where it is deployed on the Palm Deira project to help build the third and largest palm island in Dubai.863Team Delft Challenge ended the Tour de France à la Voile in fifth place in the student rankings on 24 July 2008. The young Dutch crew placed 23rd out of 27 in the overall rankings. The fleet has been sailing flat out along the Atlantic French Coast and the Mediterranean for almost a month. A total of 32 inshore and offshore races were held in extremely varying sailing conditions. The final offshore (Marseille to Hyères), for example, began in a thirty-knot mistral and ended with the entire fleet bobbing along in becalmed conditions. The French Courrier Dunkerque crew proved to be the strongest and finished first in the overall rankings.‘Our strategy was mainly defensive on the final day,’ said helmsman Michiel van der Meulen, recalling the final inshores. ‘We knew we couldn’t improve our ranking, but we could have easily slipped down a place or two, so we didn’t want to take any chances.’ The Delft students began cautiously in 23rd place, ultimately finishing as 18th and 19th. That allowed them to retain fifth place in the student rankings, with first place going to CSC/HEC/Ecole Navale. Van der Meulen said the final offshore to Hyères was ‘bizarre’. ‘We started out in a mistral of about thirty knots, but it died down after a few hours. The offshore ended in a complete calm. Our speed dropped from twenty knots to nothing. The wind fell from thirty to nil knots and we spied a whale at only ten metres distance.’ Only five boats finished within the time limit. They did not include Team Delft Challenge. ‘It was quite a battle. Fortunately, our competitors had the same results as us,’ said the helmsman. Two more years for the Mumm The organisers of the Tour de France à la Voile announced that the Mumm 30 would remain as the Tour’s boat for another two years. Initially this was to have been the final Mumm 30 year, but the organisers changed their minds. ‘We expect that they’ll be announcing the new boat in the autumn,’ said Van der Meulen. The vanUden-TU Delft-VanOord Sailing Team plan to meet shortly to evaluate the 2008 race and draw up their battle plans for 2009. For more information about the team, see: www.delftchallenge.nl Website Tour de France à la Voile: www.tourvoile.fr/site/accueil.php862Superbus, solar wall, Valmeer, mussel farming, ’Blue Energy’ power station and kite energy are just some of the possibilities which the second Afsluitdijk could create. The dike is the response of the consortium ‘Natuurlijk Afsluitdijk’ to the Afsluitdijk market research undertaken by the Dutch Directorate-General of Waterways and Public Works (Rijkswaterstaat) and the two provinces of Friesland and North Holland. ‘The dike creates new space of land and sea and will become an icon of innovation and a source of national pride that will lead to the strengthening of the Dutch international competitive position in the field of sustainable energy, water engineering and nature and the environment,’ says Wubbo Ockels, the man behind the consortium.The Afsluitdijk must be adapted due to a change in safety requirements. At the 75th anniversary celebration of the Afsluitdijk in 2007, State Secretary Tineke Huizinga’s challenge, ‘this is an opportunity to do more than just safety’, inspired Ockels with the vision of a second Afsluitdijk. There are countless options - locating the second dike on the Wadden Sea side, or on the IJsselmeer side or a combination of the two. Intelligent combinations of the various elements and functions would generate an entirely new and remarkable innovative synergy. It is essential to integrate technological, ecological and economic feasibility, all elements that make the ‘Natuurlijk Afsluitdijk’ unique: it will become an icon of the Dutch innovative water management and sustainable development policy. The ‘Natuurlijk Afsluitdijk’ consortium’s second dike will create a challenging and innovative new space, both literally and figuratively, while the old dike will maintain its shape and act as a transport dike. ‘We are putting forward an integrated plan that presents opportunities for sustainable energy production and storage, for aqua culture, recreation, new mobility and connecting the northern regions via the 'Noorderzeelijn'. This Innovation Area will mean a continual stimulus and challenge. It will rejuvenate the North, there will be no reason for young people to leave, and every reason to stay and build a new future,' says Ockels. For the moment the consortium is looking at all the possibilities right across the board and is investigating a wide range of variations for the second dike (Wadden Sea side, IJsselmeer side or a combination). This is giving rise to creative and innovative ideas and combinations of functions. The consortium will acquire sufficient insight into the effects and possible synergy in order to make a selection in December 2008. The primary objectives are safety in the short term, more space for nature, sustainable energy and energy storage, and high-quality mobility (Superbus). The Wadden area will be energy neutral (osmosis power station). Professor Wubbo J. Ockels is the initiator of the Natural Afsluitdijk plan and Royal Haskoning is project-managing it for the consortium. Other partners, who are established worldwide, are Van Oord, Lievense, Rabobank, BAM and Eneco. With their experience, diversity and performance capability this consortium can construct a sound technological, ecological basis for reliable feasibility statements that will form the foundations for a possible government decision. The consortium - one of eight in the running - submitted its phase one report yesterday. In September the steering group investigating the future of the Afsluitdijk, under the leadership of State Secretary Tineke Huizinga, will decide which of the consortiums will continue to the next phase.861Team Delft Challenge has made a strong recovery in the rankings since the Tour de France à la Voile reached the Mediterranean on 15 July. The young sailors left the disappointment of the Atlantic behind them and fought hard to regain lost ground. The tide turned during the inshores along the Saint Cyprien coast, where the team gained its first victory. They continued their strong showing in Port-Barcarès with an 8-9-13 series, followed by a somewhat less successful day. Sunday night the vanUden-TU Delft-VanOord team finished smartly in eleventh place in the race to Marseille. Despite their points disadvantage, Team Delft Challenge moved out of last place in the overall rankings. The team rose four places and is now fifth in the student rankings.'It was very exciting,' said helmswoman Suzanne Leinders this morning, recalling the offshore to Marseille. The race was to have begun Saturday evening in Port-Barcarès, but was called off owing to the lack of wind. Once in the water, the race committee provided the coordinates of the new starting line. That meant that the 27 competing Mumm 30s had to run their engines the entire night. 'The wind was crazy and there were heavy storms,' said Leinders. 'We had to contend with gusts of up to forty knots. By morning it had died down.' The 60-mile-long race began at 6 a.m. The vanUden-TU Delft-VanOord team was on the right side, but could not pick up enough speed. 'There was little we could do in the tactical sense,' said Leinders, 'because the course forced us to sail one behind the other. At Marseille we had to choose between hoisting the spinnaker high and staying at sea or lowering it and heading for the coast.' Initially the Dutch team stayed at sea, but conditions soon proved to be unfavourable. 'So we crossed over to shore again. We thought we had won there, until the teams that had stayed at sea passed us and we lost again.' Looking up The wind finally died down at sea, but the Delft team was able to take advantage of a breeze along the shore. 'That meant we were able to make up for lost ground until the breeze died down everywhere. We had to gybe to get through the gate, which turned out to be the finish. Then the breeze turned even more and we lowered the spinnaker and raised the genoa. A group of eight boats at sea picked up the fresh wind first and so they were able to finish.' The vanUden-TU Delft-VanOord team managed to pass the Val Thorens and ended in a respectable eleventh place. New energy From the moment the Dutch Mumm 30 touched the waters of the Mediterranean, the revitalised Team Delft Challenge made an impressive showing. 'We did very well,' said inshore skipper Michiel van der Meulen. 'Our tactics improved and the boat just flew along.' The sailing conditions ranged from light to fairly strong winds, but the Delft students performed well in both cases. There was a strong mistral in Marseille, preventing the inshore races from continuing. The closing inshores in Hyères are scheduled for today. 'It’s a shame that the races in Marseille have been cancelled,' said Leinders, 'because now we probably won’t be able to close the gap with the fourth student team.' After 28 races, the French team Courrier Dunkerque heads the overall rankings. CSC/HEC/Ecole Navale is at the top of the student rankings and in tenth place overall. For more information about the team, see: www.delftchallenge.nl Website Tour de France à la Voile: www.tourvoile.fr/site/accueil.php860Van Oord has been awarded a 5.5 km quay wall on the Deira Islands in Dubai. Van Oord already received the award for a 3.5 km quay wall for the same project. This order will bring the total on the Deira Islands to approximately 9 km.Three rock-instalment pontoons will be deployed. The project will run for 65 weeks and the contract value is approximately EUR 60 million. The Deira Islands are, just like Palm Deira, part of the Deira Developments, the largest land reclamation project in the world.859The Spiegelzee Pavilion had its official opening on Friday 18 July 2008, presided over by the Director-General of Public Works and Water Management, Bert Keijts, and a small army of Roman primary school students. The Spiegelzee Pavilion is located on the beach at Katwijk, approximately where the Roman fort of Brittenburg once stood.Visitors to Spiegelzee can see what the world is like at various different sea levels, for example 6 m NAP (Normal Sea Level at Amsterdam), as it was during the last Ice Age, and -120 m NAP, when the North Sea was dry. The purpose of the Spiegelzee Pavilion is to teach a broad group of visitors about the past, present and future of the sea level and the role that nature and human beings play. Admission free Admission to the pavilion is free of charge. Students and staff from Delft University of Technology and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) will give guided tours to groups upon request. Tours can be booked on the website www.spiegelzee.nl. Partners The idea for the Spiegelzee Pavilion came from students and researchers at Delft University of Technology. The pavilion was designed by ZUS architects. TNO adopted the project.  The Spiegelzee Pavilion was made possible thanks to the National Committee of the Year of Planet Earth, Delft University of Technology, TNO, the Directorate-General of Public Works and Water Management, Rabobank at Katwijk, Van Oord, the Province of Zuid-Holland, the Rijnland Dike and Polder Board and the Municipality of Katwijk. See also www.spiegelzee.nl858Van Oord has been awarded two projects on the east coast of England for the UK Environment Agency.The first is the Happisburgh to Winterton Sea Defence Project which is worth approximately EUR 9 million. This is a continuation of previous works that have been undertaken by Van Oord at this location for over 10 years. The execution will start in September 2008 and is scheduled for completion in December 2008. The workscope includes 280,000 m3 of beach recharge and the building and refurbishment of rock groynes and revetments. Trailing suction hopper dredger Geopotes 15 will be deployed for this project after having been fitted with screens to ensure the required beach material grading is achieved. The second awarded project is at Jaywick, near Clacton. The contract value amounts to some EUR 13 million. Work starts in September 2008 and is scheduled for completion by the end of the year. The project involves construction of a 185 m long offshore breakwater (including 40,000 tonnes of rock), 250,000 m³ of beach nourishment and an outfall extension (150 m). Suction Dredger Sliedrecht 27 will be deployed as a booster station for the beach nourishment works.857The Team Delft Challenge resumed the Tour de France à la Voile on 10 July 2008. After the students’ Mumm 30 ran up against the rocks last week, their race against the clock began. The on-shore crew worked round the clock to repair the damaged keel. By the time the VanUden-TU Delft-Van Oord had been lowered into the water at Granville, the competition committee had decided to cancel the following two offshores due to high winds.The final Atlantic offshore, 180 miles to Royan, began last night. The Tour will then continue in the Mediterranean.‘It went reasonably well this afternoon,’ said helmsman Michiel van der Meulen of the three inshores off the coast of Lorient. The VanUden-TU Delft-VanOord ended in 24th, 25th and 21st place. ‘The starts were better, but we neglected a few tactical opportunities and made some boat handling errors rounding the buoys.’ The setbacks have forced the Dutch students into last place in a group of 27 competitors. If it is up to Van der Meulen, that will change in the weeks ahead: ‘We’re feeling positive. This is the final Atlantic stage. We hope we’ll sail a good race and narrow the gap between us and the rest. Then we'll probably be able to improve our rankings in the Mediterranean.’ Reaching to Royan 'The wind is blowing at 15 to 20 knots, so we’ll be using the spinnaker or genoa,’ predicts Van der Meulen. 'Conditions will not be rough and boat handling will be very important, because they’ve placed quite a few buoys out along the course. The choice of sail should also make things interesting. I’m sure we can turn that to our advantage.' When asked whether the setback last week had caused the team to make any changes, the helmsman replied: 'We evaluated everything thoroughly and made firm agreements about when to change tack. We’ve increased the margin somewhat. Everyone’s now aware of the high-risk areas, so that the entire crew can keep a sharp eye out.' Although they had a difficult start, the Dutch team still plans to finish the Tour in Royan as one of the top three student teams. The fleet is expected to arrive there Friday night. For more information about the team, see: www.delftchallenge.nl Website Tour de France à la Voile: www.tourvoile.fr/site/accueil.php856Dredging company Van Oord and consulting engineers and architects Royal Haskoning offer ideas for improving the safety of the Netherlands along the coast, reducing the pressure on the Randstad and at the same time making even better use of the scarce land in the Netherlands. According to both companies this can be done in an innovative and feasible way. The two firms have based these ideas on the experience they have acquired in Dubai, where they have been working together for years on the Palm Islands.Over the last few months the two organizations have been jointly studying the options for a large-scale coastal extension and an airport in the North Sea. The proposals are a response to questions that are topical in the Netherlands about the safety of the coast as a result of the expected rise in sea level, and the lack of space and the need to expand the natural residential environment in the densely populated Randstad – the area containing Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague. The plans for the coastal extension and the international airport in the sea are based on the knowledge and experience that both parties have developed in the course of many years while designing and executing large-scale land reclamation projects and artificial islands in the sea, including recent projects in Dubai such as the Palm Islands and The World. Coastal extension The proposal is to broaden the coastal zone by three kilometres in order to enhance the safety of the Netherlands. This will create 250 square km of 'new land'. The proposed work is split up into phases covering the coast from the Hook of Holland to Den Helder. It will take about 25 years, and approximately 3.8 billion cubic metres of sand from the North Sea will be needed. The companies have calculated that if one third of the 'new land' is zoned for residential building and offices, and the rest as a nature and recreation area, the project can be implemented on a cost neutral basis. This idea for a new Dutch coast also includes a new row of dunes three km off the coast that are able to withstand the rise in sea level. Experts are predicting increases in sea level of between 60 and 80 cm before the end of this century. Airport in the sea The proposal also includes a pioneering design for an international airport - about 20 km from the coast - with innovative floating and rotating runways. This airport can be operational 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This can enable the Netherlands to further expand its important position as the gateway to Europe after 2025, when the current Schiphol Airport will have reached its maximum capacity. Schiphol will remain the hub from where passengers go the airport in the sea. Transport will be provided by maglev trains that shuttle through bored tunnels between the terminals in the sea and the current Schiphol. This proposal reduces the pressure on the Randstad and the land around Schiphol, which can then be used for other purposes. In addition, safety will be improved and the nuisance caused by noise and air pollution affecting people living near Schiphol will be reduced. “New, innovative and creative ideas are born by combining brainpower. The collaboration between Royal Haskoning and Van Oord is proof of this,” say Van Oord Managing Director John van Herwijnen and Chairman of the Royal Haskoning Board of Management Jan Bout.855Princess Amalia wind farm (former Q7) already supplies 120 megawatt electricity a day for more than a month. Enough current for 125,000 households. This was the first offshore wind farm project for Van Oord as management contractor.Van Oord handled the design, the construction and the laying of the foundations, as well as the electricity system. The Belwind project off the Belgian coast is the next project in which Van Oord will be involved. Work is scheduled to start spring 2009. Please click on the link on the right to see an impression of the 20 months taking construction process. The film is named Balancing with energy.  854Lucas Schröder navigating for VanUden–TU Delft–Van Oord The Delft Challenge Team announced on Friday 27 June that it is ready for the start of the Tour de France à la Voile 2008. The Mumm 30 fleet will cover approximately 920 nautical miles along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts in July. The VanUden-TU Delft-Van Oord has been measured and is now in the water at Dunkirk in northern France. The final team members arrived this evening and the demanding race will begin next Sunday with the prologue and the first inshore. Two or three inshores will follow on Monday afternoon. Monday evening the contestants line up for the first 93-mile offshore to Dieppe. Transat sailor Lucas Schröder will join the team as the navigator/tactician.“The sails have been measured and approved and the safety inspection is now under way,” reported helmsman Michiel van der Meulen from Dunkirk. “They only spot-check the boats, so they’ve now measured just a few of them. If any teams really put on the speed later, their Mumm could still be subject to inspection in Dieppe.” Preparations in the Dutch camp are running smoothly. Nine team members were hard at work Friday morning. The other eight will be arriving in the course of the day. “I’m working with Lucas on preparing the navigation,” said Van der Meulen. “It looks like we’re in for changeable weather, with a high-pressure area above the Gulf of Biscay preventing the low-pressure area from moving in. There’s also a high-pressure area developing above Germany that’s blocking everything.” According to Van der Meulen, the wind may therefore be “all or nothing” during the first offshore. Offshores should offer biggest gains The VanUden-TU Delft-Van Oord team wants a spot on the winner’s podium this year. Van der Meulen is guessing that Insa and Hec will present the biggest challenge. “But there are also a few newcomers who claim to be good. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m also not sure where we stand. We were sixth in 2007 and it was the offshores in particular that were troublesome. That’s precisely where we hope to make our biggest gains this year. We got Lucas to join up and we’re preparing everything step by step. We’re also working with both an inshore and an offshore crew this time. That’s new for us, and I think it’s where our strength will lie.” Lucas Schröder: “Great challenge and good experience” Last October, solo sailor Lucas Schröder finished fifth in the Transat 6.50, the best Dutch performance to date in this solo trans-Atlantic yacht race. Now he’s joining the VanUden-TU Delft–Van Oord as a navigator/tactician during the Atlantic offshores. “This is a great challenge because computers are allowed and that gives you more navigation options. It’s also a good experience sailing in a team. I’ve spent the past three days preparing with my old trainer, Tanguy. He’s competed in the Tour three times and will coach me through a few stages.” To understand the challenges he faces, Schröder has divided each stage into strategic components. “I’ve analysed all the defining factors – the coastal effects, currents and what happens when the wind turns. That gives me a framework for taking decisions during the race. I’ll discuss all this with the rest beforehand, so that everyone has a grasp of the race and can help think things through. It’s also very motivating.” Schröder believes that his offshore experience will be of added value during night sailing. “I’m going to try and turn that to our advantage.” This will be the fifth time that the Delft students attempt to win the student class of the Tour. The old team came close in 2006 by capturing third place. About the Tour de France à la Voile The Tour de France à la Voile consists of a series of demanding short-track and long-distance races. The fleet – made up of professional, amateur and student teams – will cover 900 nautical miles in July. The contestants will sail from Dunkirk, covering the English Channel, the Gulf of Biscay, and the Mediterranean Sea in ten stages. Three of the stages exceed 180 miles. The first six offshores will bring the teams along the Atlantic coast to Royan. From there, the boats will be transported by road to Saint-Cyprien on the Mediterranean for the second part of the Tour. The race ends on 24 July in Hyères. For more information about the team, see: www.delftchallenge.nl Website Tour de France à la Voile: www.tourvoile.fr/site/accueil.php  853Van Oord has been contracted by the Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management to carry out the country’s biggest foreshore replenishment project ever. Up to early 2009, Van Oord’s suction hopper dredgers will deposit more than eight million cubic metres of sand off the coast at Den Helder. The contract comes to EUR 27 million.Van Oord is regularly involved in maintaining the Dutch coastline. The company has the expertise and equipment to pro-actively work on keeping the low-lying country safe and sound behind a set of strong coastal defences. Foreshore replenishment involves depositing a body of sand off the coast. This reduces the currents in the sea, making it less necessary to keep up the beach. It is also a cheaper option than beach replenishment. Climate change and the associated rise in sea level will require further reinforcement and widening of Dutch coastal defences.852Van Oord has signed a cooperation agreement for the development of the ‘WaterplusHousing’ concept. There is a rising demand for floating homes and water storage in the Netherlands. Now Bouwfonds Property Development, AquaPlanning, Van Oord and Betonson have signed a declaration of intent to develop the ‘WaterplusHousing’ concept that is to meet both demands. Van Oord was previously involved in constructing the IJburg residential island near Amsterdam.The new concept provides the basis for developing entire residential neighbourhoods on the water, including floating roads, outdoor cafes, greenery, and so on. The partners intend to test the feasibility of their concept in a new housing development, part of the Westeraam project in the town of Elst. A water storage facility is to be constructed in the Westeraam district, and the partners are investigating whether their concept can contribute both to water storage and floating homes in a way that is financially attractive and of good quality.851Van Oord Nederland has been awarded the contract to build a quay along Zijkanaal A in Beverwijk (The Netherlands). The quay structure will have a length of 225 metres and a dam height of 12 metres. The contract also includes the design of the dredging work, the coastal and shoreline works, the land-based infrastructure and applying for the required permits. The contract involves a sum of more than EUR 4 million.Van Oord Nederland will be commencing the project in September 2008. The work will take approximately eight months. The client is Abeko, an international plant hire company that specialises in earth-moving, transhipment, demolition, cutting and dredging equipment. Abeko works on Van Oord projects throughout the world.850Wind farm Q7 was officially opened yesterday and has been given the name Prinses Amalia Windpark. This was the first offshore wind farm project for Van Oord as management contractor. Van Oord handled the design, the construction and the laying of the foundations, as well as the electricity system.This wind park includes 60 wind turbines located approximately 23 kilometres from the shoreline at IJmuiden, which was a world record for offshore wind farms when the construction work commenced. The wind turbines have a single-pile footing of 50 metres in length. In 2006, the first pile of 25 metres was driven into the sea bed. Transition sections were placed on the piles on which 50-metre high masts were mounted. The turbines, with a span of 80 metres, supplied the first electricity in December 2007. In the case of favourable wind, the turbines supply 120 megawatt – enough current for 125,000 households. The construction took 20 months. The Belwind project off the Belgian coast is the next project in which Van Oord will be involved with project partner Evelop (from Econcern). Work is scheduled to start this year and the first electricity will be supplied in 2010. Three projects – Godewind, OWP West and Albatros – will also be implemented off the German coast in collaboration with Evelop.849The children at the Poederoijen primary school thought it was great. They enthusiastically pumped water into a lock and sailed boats past a water wheel. Moreover, they performed a play showing the purposes for which people use litres and litres of water every day. This ‘shower’ ended on a serious note: when using water, use your heart and your mind. The children were the highpoint of the presentation of Watertoolkit, which provides primary schools with teaching materials for a project week about water. The toolkit was developed in The Hague. The initiators are hoping to interest all Dutch primary schools in the toolkit. The most important sponsor is the hydraulic engineering sector and, in particular, dredging and marine contracting company Van Oord.The idea was proposed by JCI (Junior Chamber International), an organisation of young entrepreneurs with 200,000 members throughout the world. The JCI Bergsche Maas has taken responsibility for the water toolkit. The infectious enthusiasm of this club convinced 75 of the 95 Dutch JCI branches to promote the water toolkit. JCI members deliver and collect the material ‘because it’s not something that you can transport on the back of a bike’. Five large crates of teaching material are involved for two primary school classes in each case, and corresponding didactic material is available for teachers. The idea is to make children aware of water. ‘Not everyone lives in a country with sufficient clean drinking water and without constant fear of floods,’ says the Junior Chamber in Bergsche Maas. Dredging company Van Oord considers the water toolkit to be a very useful package for making children aware of hydraulic engineering – a splendid Dutch export product. Bert Groothuizen, Public Relations and Marketing manager, gave a very upbeat presentation about the projects in Dubai. ‘However attractive our project in Deira may be, nobody realises that it is a Dutch product. We must involve hydraulic engineering far more in branding the Netherlands.’ Just as impressive was architect Erick van Egeraat’s presentation of a multifunctional island in the Black Sea near Sochi where the Olympic Winter Games will be held in 2014. The entire island must be completed by 2020 and will include ‘varied permanent accommodation for 100,000 people’, according to the architect, who is cooperating closely with Van Oord. Keen new employees will be needed for all these projects, and the seeds for that enthusiasm are best sown at primary school level!848Last Friday, 30 May 2008, saw the laying of the keel for Van Oord’s new suction hopper dredger, Vox Dubai.. The new vessel will be about 203 metres long, with a beam of 31 metres and a draught of 17.5 metres, making it the largest suction hopper dredger yet built in the Netherlands. This will be the second big suction hopper dredger – i.e. with a capacity of more than 30,000 m3 – that Van Oord is adding to its fleet. Earlier this year, the extended HAM 318 was completed. The HAM 318 has a hopper capacity of 37,500 cubic metres, making it the biggest in the world.The first big sections were built during a preparation period lasting more than a year. They were then transported on pontoons to Kinderdijk, where they were transferred to the slipway. Laying a ship’s keel is the official start of construction on the slipway. The ceremonial act was performed on Friday by Wilma Sangers, the partner of Jan de Graaf, the deceased chief engineer who was to have worked on the new ship. When the keel is laid, a coin is traditionally placed under it, and that tradition was honoured in the case of the Vox Dubai too. When the ship is actually launched, the coin is recovered and presented to the commissioning client so as to wish the vessel many safe journeys. The Vox Dubai is expected to become operational towards the end of 2009.847Van Oord has been awarded a dredging and trenching project on the Yamal Peninsula in Northern Russia. Van Oord will execute the Baydaratskaya Bay Crossing Project as a contractor for the Russian company MRTS. The final client is Yamalgazinvest, a subsidiary of Gazprom.Van Oord will execute the project with the trailing suction hopper dredger Utrecht during the ice-free window in 2008. The total contract value is approximately EUR 20 million. Gazprom is developing the Yamal area with the final aim to transport gas to its local network and Western Europe. The works entail the dredging and pumping ashore of sand for a reclamation area and dredging and backfilling works for a pipeline trench.846The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management has awarded Van Oord Nederland the contract to carry out maintenance dredging in Witte Tonnen Vlije and Brabantsche Vaarwater (areas of the Oosterschelde estuary) and the Zuid-Beveland Canal. A small trailing suction hopper dredger, a crane vessel and a water injection vessel will be used to remove some 550,000 m3 of material.The 11 km Zuid-Beveland Canal runs from van Hansweert (on the Westerschelde estuary) to Wemeldinge (on the Oosterschelde). It is a primary route for shipping. The dredging spoil will be dumped in the Westerschelde and Oosterschelde. Some will also be pumped up onto the Galgeplaat tidal flats to promote nature development. The project will start in June this year and run until February 2009. Van Oord Nederland is currently also carrying out maintenance dredging in the canal running from Ghent to Terneuzen. The project involves removing 810,000 m3 of silt from the section between Terneuzen and the Belgian border.845The vanUden-TU Delft-VanOord student sailing team captured the Hans Horrevoets Memorial Trophy last Saturday during the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta. The ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta began on Tuesday 29 April 2008 with the traditional Vuurschepen Race for IRC and ORC club class boats. This offshore race (110 nautical miles) goes from Scheveningen in the Netherlands to Harwich in Great Britain. After a day off, the starting shot sounded on 2 May for the 185-mile North Sea Race back to Scheveningen. The inshore races along the coast of Scheveningen took place from Friday 9 to Monday 12 May 2008. Competing were open class boats, catamarans, Olympic and One-Design boats, classic sailing yachts and classic boats.At an average age of 22.87 and with two strong offshores under their belt, the vanUden-TU Delft-VanOord student team had a good chance of winning the Hans Horrevoets Memorial Trophy in their Mumm30. The trophy goes to the youngest team (based on average age) and the best offshore results. “We view these races as training for the Tour de France à la Voile offshores,” said skipper Suzanne Leinders. The races have given her enormous confidence in her revamped team. “We left everyone behind on the way from Scheveningen to Harwich,” Suzanne related. The team ended up winning the IRC-1 class in the Vuurschepen Race. Their boat’s short hull was a disadvantage on the return race, however. “The big boats were sailing at a hull speed of about seven knots, but we couldn’t manage more than 5.5,” said Suzanne. Nevertheless, she is very happy with her crew’s performance. “Despite the mess at the start, we got away just fine. We were able to stay focused by encouraging one another.” They ended up in fourth place in their class. The other student teams took much longer to complete the race. The Euros team from Enschede took 1 day and 17 hours, while the Histos team from Utrecht crossed in 1 day and 22 hours. On Saturday evening, 10 May 2008, the team did indeed receive the Hans Horrevoets Memorial Trophy. In a memorable awards ceremony, Hans’ eldest daughter Bobby kissed the splendid cup before handing it to skipper Suzanne Leinders. “This trophy is something very special indeed,” said Suzanne after the ceremony. “It represents Hans’s ideals.” “A number of fellows who competed in the first Delft Challenge were coached by Hans,” added one of her team mates. “And we were trained by them in turn. That knowledge transfer is very important.” The vanUden-TUDelft-VanOord student sailing team will take part in the Tour de France à la Voile in July. On 18 May it was precisely two years ago that Hans Horrevoets died during the Volvo Ocean Race. For more information about the sailing team, please see http://www.delftchallenge.nl844Van Oord’s Supervisory Board intends to appoint Mr Pieter van Oord as chairman of the Board of Management during an extraordinary meeting of shareholders on 6 November 2008. Mr Van Oord will succeed Mr Jac.G. van Oord, who is retiring in November 2008.Mr A.P.H. van Baardewijk resigned as a member of the Supervisory Board at the meeting of shareholders on 8 May 2008, as his term had come to an end. Mr C.J. van den Driest has succeeded him as chairman. In addition, Mr K. Damen, chairman of Damen Shipyards Group, was appointed to the Supervisory Board. As from today, Van Oord’s Supervisory Board consists of Mr C.J. van den Driest (chairman), Mr K. Damen, Mr J.G. van Oord, Mr R.O. Prins and Mr W. van Vonno.843Van Oord has been awarded a contract for dredging and reclamation activities for the expansion works of the Brisbane Airport in Queensland, Australia. The total contract value amounts to EUR 22 million. Client is the Brisbane Airport Corporation. Execution of the works will start end of April and the project is scheduled for completion in August 2008.The Brisbane Airport Corporation requires 2,000,000 m³ of sand from Middle Banks in Moreton Bay to be dredged and pumped ashore into four reclamation areas at the Brisbane Airport. A portion of this sand will be used for other construction activities of Brisbane Airport. The dredging and reclamation activities will be subject to an environmental monitoring program and will be carried out under strict environmental conditions, i.e. with respect to achieved turbidity levels of discharge water. Van Oord will deploy trailing suction hopper dredger Volvox Asia.842Evelop, part of leading sustainable energy company Econcern, has signed a contract with dredging and marine contractor Van Oord. Both companies are from the Netherlands. The contract envisages that in the coming four years, the companies will build four offshore wind farms in Western Europe. The agreement covers the realisation of the foundations and electrical workings of the turbines. The total investment of this contract amounts approximately to EUR 1.5 billion. The wind farms will have a total maximum capacity of 1,500 MW, or enough to supply sustainable electricity to 1.5 million households.The first project will be the 330-megawatt offshore Belwind project off the coast of Belgium. The final investment decision is planned for mid-2008 and the project will start delivering electricity at the beginning of 2010. The wind farms off the German coast - named Gode Wind, OWP West and Albatros - are the next projects that have been planned by Evelop and Van Oord. Dirk Berkhout, Member of the Board of Econcern, explains: "We are delighted to continue our cooperation with Van Oord. We are already working successfully together in the development of the Q7 wind farm in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, which we are going to open in June. This long-term partnership fits perfectly with our sustainable strategy of realising one offshore wind farm per year with several high-quality organisations. First we are going to build these wind farms, after 2012 we are planning to grow even faster by using the new technology available at that time. This major investment in offshore wind farms contributes to fulfilling our mission: providing a sustainable energy supply for everyone.” Peter de Ridder, member of the Board of Management of Van Oord, says: “We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Evelop. The joint undertaking with Evelop for the building of these major offshore wind farms fits in very well with Van Oord’s strategy to play an important role in the worldwide offshore wind energy market, and to contribute to the CO2 emission reduction goals.”840Van Oord and IHC Merwede have reached agreement on four split hopper vessels to be built at the Dalian Liaonan Shipyard in Dalian, China. The vessels to be built are part of our current investment programme.The vessels are 96 m long over all, 18 m wide, have a hopper capacity of 2,850 m³ and they have 3,159 kW of power installed. The propulsion is by two 1100 kW Azimuth thrusters and there is a DP-facility for easy manoeuvring. The first two vessels will be operational from April 2009 and the other two from June 2009. They will be deployed together with our two new backacters, which are currently being built.838Van Oord Offshore signed a contract with client Rompetrol for the installation of an oil unloading system in The Black Sea in Romania. This contract has a value of EUR 56 million. The project will commence early May and be completed before end 2008.The contract contains an EPIC contract (Engineering, Procurement, Installation and Commisioning) for the Midia Marine Terminal in Romania. The project entails the installation of an SPM (Single Point Mooring) system in the Black Sea. The SPM will be used for oil unloading by crude tankers of a maxiumum of 160,000 DWT and will be connected to an onshore refinery by a 8.700m long pipeline. Van Oord will be responsible for the project management and all onshore and offshore installation activities.The complete SPM system will be supplied by Bluewater Energy Services from the Netherlands. Van Oord will mobilise one pulling winch and one trailing suction hopper dredger for the trench dredging works. Foto: Mr. Joep Athmer, Managing director Van Oord Offshore (left) and Tudorel Dumitrascu, Managing Director Rompetrol (right) sign the contract.837Ecoshape, Building with Nature has moved into its new premises in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. Officiating at the inauguration ceremony was Annemieke Nijhof, Director-General for Water at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.Building with Nature’s innovation programme is of major significance to the Dutch marine engineering sector, traditionally one of the key players in the global market. By setting up the EcoShape, Building with Nature foundation, Dutch marine contractors hope to capitalise on their early work in ‘sustainable coastal, delta and river engineering’. A sound research programme is crucial to that aim. Much of the earth’s population lives and works in coastal, delta and river areas and requires protection against the rising sea level. There is also a need to give rivers more room to flood and to expand port capacity. Sustainability and ecological principles increasingly set the standard in these areas. The Building with Nature expertise programme was set up to facilitate innovation. The Dutch marine contracting sector hopes the programme will set off a transition from the current defence-related design methods to a new design practice that focuses on maximising the potential of natural systems. The Building with Nature mission is to develop new, sustainable design concepts for coastal, delta and river areas that satisfy infrastructure and economic requirements while being based on ecological opportunities. Known as ‘ecodynamic design’, this approach involves research and case studies that furnish scientifically proven knowledge and tools. Building with Nature must help to break through the impasses facing major marine contracting and infrastructure projects as a result of stricter and more complex environmental legislation. The programme will enhance the Dutch marine contracting sector and keep the Netherlands on the world map as a leading marine contracting nation. Partners EcoShape was set up by dredging companies Koninklijke Boskalis Westminster N.V. and Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors bv. Its members include the following representatives of the Dutch marine contracting sector: VBKO (sector representative organisation), Deltares, Imares, NIOZ, NIOO-CEME and Astron-Lofar (expertise centres), Witteveen Bos, DHV and Haskoning (consulting firms), the Dutch universities of Delft, Wageningen and Twente, industrial operators Shell Global Solutions and IHC-Holland, and two government agencies, RWSBouwdienst and the City of Dordrecht. The consortium members will be contributing a total of approximately EUR 13 million over a five-year period. The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management will provide another EUR 13 million in co-financing, made available from the Balkenende Government’s innovation fund. For more information: EcoShape programme manager on behalf of Van Oord W.G. Dirks Tel. 31 10  447 85 27  E-mail: wdi@vanoord.com Website: http://www.ecoshape.nl836The revamped vanUden-TU Delft-Van Oord Sailing Team embarked on its fifth Tour campaign Easter weekend in the French port of La Trinité-sur-Mer. The technical university students took part in the classic Spi Ouest competition, which attracts some 500 boats every year. This ‘exhibition race’ signalled the official start of the season for the Dutch sailors, who participated in the Mumm-30 class and ended in thirteenth place in a strong field. The starting shot for the thirtieth Tour de France à la Voile will be fired in Dunkirk at the end of June. The competition consists of a series of short-track and long-distance races along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts. The vanUden-TU Delft-Van Oord Sailing Team is determined to appear on the winner’s podium in the student category.‘Spi Ouest was a good initial practice race for us,’ said skipper Suzanne Leinders (23, majoring in Applied Physics). ‘We had a chance to test our mettle against the other 17 Mumm-30 teams. We occasionally made good time, but we had some problems with our starts and boat handling. So we know what to focus on in our training.’ Spi Ouest will go down in history as a cold and turbulent race. The trouble began when fishermen protesting against the high price of diesel blockaded the port of La Trinité-sur-Mer. After much negotiation, the blockade was lifted on the second day of the race and the eager sailors were able to push off. A fierce race followed in gusts of up to 35 knots. The Dutch Mumm team put up a good fight and captured eleventh place. The team kept up the excellent work on Sunday and competed in three races. Leinders and her crew achieved a score of 11-7-15. ‘We started well in the second race and that gave us much better control,’ said Leinders. ‘It confirmed that we’re headed in the right direction. Now we just have to fine-tune our technique so that we can place in the top ten.’ After six races, the vanUden-TU Delft-Van Oord Sailing Team ended in thirteenth place in the general Mumm-30 category. Revamped team trains with Heiner After the first three campaigns, a fresh crop of students took over the Delft Challenge Team in 2007. The debut team placed sixth in the student class last year (and 24th overall) under the leadership of skippers Suzanne Leinders and Michiel van der Meulen. Four of the previous team members will continue this season and the remaining spots have almost all been filled. ‘We spent a week with Team Heiner this winter,’ says Leinders. ‘It was a chance to try out candidates as part of our selection process. Roy Heiner also gave us an afternoon’s training.’ The revamped vanUden-TU Delft-Van Oord Sailing Team now has a ten-person crew, including Nicolas Heiner and navigator Jasper van den Munckhof. The team is also working hard on its meteorological skills. ‘We’ve had numerous sessions with an instructor at the nautical college. We’ve also been in touch with Peter Thans and plan to visit him and solo sailor Lucas Schröder.’ The team is still seeking three new members, however. 'Initially, we wanted to keep the number of crew members down. But now that the Atlantic route has become so challenging, we think we’d better boost the team.' The Atlantic route consists of five stages, three of which are around 180 nautical miles long. The boats are then transported by lorry to the Mediterranean, where the emphasis is on inshore races. The fleet will end in Hyéres in the weekend of 22-24 July. Busy preparing The ambitious student crew is busy preparing for the 2008 Tour de France à la Voile. In April they will appear at the start of the vanUden Reco Stellendam Regatta and shortly thereafter compete in the ABN AMRO North Sea Regatta offshore races. ‘After that we’ll take part in the inshore races in Scheveningen. Deauville Week will be our final test before the Tour. Our aim is to be among the top three student teams in France.’ For more information about the team, see http://www.delftchallenge.nl '); } OneStat_Pageview(); //--> // --> // --> 835Van Oord started dredging operations for the access channel to Banjarmassin on the island of Kalimantan.A 15 km long and 6 m deep access channel will be dredged to the port of Banjarmassin. Van Oord will deploy trailing suction hopper dredger HAM 312, cutter suction dredger HAM 219 and water injection dredger HAM 922. The total contract value amounts to some EUR 27 million. The client is P.T. Sarana Daya Mandiri. The execution started in March 2008 and is scheduled for completion in November 2008.834Van Oord awarded a contract for laying a 150 KV cable. The cable will be situated between Ellewoutsdijk and Terneuzen. The contract value amounts to EUR 23 million. The project will be executed in joint venture with Visser / Smit Hanab. Van Oord' s share in the joint venture is 48%. Client is public utilities company Delta Infra BV. The execution will start on 1 May next and is scheduled for completion in November 2008.The contract concerns a design and construct project. Two cable bundles will be layed across the river Westerscheldt. Van Oord will deploy cutter suction dredger HAM 250, trailing suction hopper dredger Geopotes 14, side stone dumping vessel Frans, water injection dredger Jetsed and crane barge Viking (Paans).833With the presence of awarding authority Nakheel, the final rock placing on Tuesday 18 March 2008 completed the expansion of Mina Seyahi marina named Dubai Promenade. In April 2004 client Nakheel awarded Van Oord the contract to convert Mina Seyahi into a marine complex capable of serving the increasing boat traffic resulting from the development of Palm Jumeirah and also creating more room for new office and residential high-rises at the same time.The design and construction included a 465 m long quay wall, replenishment of 250,000 m³ of sand behind the quay wall, new breakwaters, a peninsula and the creation of a beach by depositing approximately 1,000,000 m³ of sand. In June 2006 the client revealed a new masterplan for Dubai Promenade. The big change involved the development of large arching breakwaters with an underwater reef to protect a new beach. Van Oord also reclaimed land on which to build a second 'seven star' icon hotel. Van Oord is building tomorrow's infrastructure around the world. Its core activities are dredging, offshore services, coastal construction, and infrastructure (marine and land-based). The company has 4,000 employees worldwide working in more than 26 countries. Van Oord has a large, state-of-the-art fleet that is currently being expanded on a massive scale. The challenges associated with climate change, the global increase in goods transport, and the growing demand for oil and gas are giving Van Oord the opportunity to boost its leading position in dredging and marine construction.832Van Oord has been awarded a contract for maintenance dredging of the access channel and bassin in the harbour of Moa, Cuba. The contract value amounts to some EUR 2 million. Client is Moa Nicel SA. Execution of the project start mid March and is scheduled for completion in April 2008. Van Oord will deploy trailing suction hopper dredger HAM 309.For further informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, manager Marketing and Public Relations, T 31 10 4478234,E info@vanoord.com831* 85% increase in net profit (EUR 164 million) * Higher turnover (EUR 1,652 million) * Substantial investment programme (EUR 1,000 million) * Good order portfolio (EUR 3,725 million) * Favourable profitability expected for 2008 Van Oord recorded a turnover of EUR 1,652 million in 2007 (2006: EUR 1,516 million). At EUR 164 million, net profits rose by 85% compared with the previous year 2006 (EUR 89 million). The company succeeded in capitalising on favourable market conditions, in addition, both employees and equipment were virtually fully deployed and project profitability increased. Van Oord’s order portfolio stood at EUR 3,725 million at the end of 2007 (2006: EUR 4,089 million), of which EUR 1,150 million concerns work to be carried out in 2008 (these figures do not include the Maasvlakte 2 contract).Market Netherlands (EUR 146 million turnover) Our approach to the Dutch market involves offering a broad range of activities and we observe a slow increase of the price level, which was too low. The major infrastructure projects in this market are increasingly being put on the market under new types of contract. In addition to project execution, there is a growing emphasis on engineering and financing, allowing market parties such as Van Oord more scope for generating knowledge, gaining experience and developing their own initiatives. As a result, however, the costs involved in preparing such projects are quite high. On 27 February 2008, the Rotterdam Port Authority awarded the Maasvlakte 2 port expansion project to the consortium in which Van Oord has a 50% share. Europe and the Mediterranean (EUR 213 million turnover) Our traditional domestic market is Western Europe, where we have a number of permanent offices. Turnover in the European market is more or less stable. We play a significant role in the northern German market with respect to maintenance dredging and land reclamation. In the British market, the Environmental Agency has selected us as one of the preferred contractors for coastal defence projects. Our activities in Eastern Europe and the Caspian Sea have increased. Working in extremely cold climates and remote regions means new challenges. In Gibraltar, we successfully completed two land reclamation projects. Dravo S.A., a joint venture company with Spain’s Dragados S.A., has executed a number of beach replenishment and port-related projects in Spain, Portugal and Italy. Middle East and Southwest Asia (EUR 872 million turnover) Turnover in this region has once again increased in the past year, and our activities were also more varied than previously. A significant share of turnover was recorded in Dubai, as in previous years. The prestigious land reclamation project The World was completed in early 2008. The first major soil improvement project in Dubai was awarded in 2007. Van Oord will use vibro-compaction techniques to compact the sand deposits and prepare the reclaimed land for further construction more quickly. Palm Deira, a project ten times the size of Palm Jumeirah, is still under construction. We have a stable position in the maintenance dredging market in India, but the number of projects awarded in 2007 was somewhat disappointing. The slow-down is mainly owing to the slow administrative process and excessively low budgets. Asia and Australia (EUR 136 million turnover) Cutter suction hopper dredger Noordzee spent most of the year working in China. The supply of sand from Singapore’s neighbouring countries did not resume in 2007. Since the supply has been suspended for several years now, clients are looking for innovative working methods that reduce the quantity of sand required. For example in the Pasir Panjang container terminal project – in which we are involved as part of a consortium – clay will be mixed in with the sand. There are positive developments in the Australian market. The growing export of raw materials is creating a demand for new port facilities. We are working on projects in Dampier, for example, where in addition to dredging our work involves drilling, blasting and the removal of the material. Our multi-year contract to supply sand to the cement industry in Australia has been renewed. Likewise, our multi-year contract to perform maintenance dredging work in a number of ports in New Zealand has also been renewed. Africa and South and Central America (EUR 82 million turnover) We carried out a number of dredging projects in South Africa and Nigeria in 2007. Safety was once again a cause for considerable concern in Nigeria. We are active in Brazil and Venezuela, but the number of projects was somewhat disappointing in the wake of the elections in these two countries. Offshore (EUR 203 million turnover) Our offshore activities consist of pipeline protection at sea. We work to a considerable depth with the help of flexible fallpipe vessels. Our activities also include constructing landfalls, installing loading and unloading buoys, and performing offshore-related dredging work. The Ormen Lange fallpipe project in Norway was completed in 2007. Van Oord is acting as the management contractor for the construction of the Q7 offshore wind farm near IJmuiden, the Netherlands. Van Oord Offshore is responsible for laying power cables and protecting the wind turbine foundations and cables from erosion. Investments Van Oord increased its 2007/2011 investment programme in late 2007 to EUR 1 billion. Our trailing suction hopper dredger HAM 318 is being lengthened at the Cosco Yard in Dalian, China. The vessel, which will have a hopper capacity of 37,500 m3, will be recommissioned in the first half of 2008. Our new fallpipe vessel, which will be named Stornes, can carry 27,000 tonnes and is also being built in China. Stornes should be completed in the spring of 2009. The keel of our new trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Dubai will be laid in May 2008. The Vox Dubai will have a hopper capacity of 31,200 m3 and is being built at IHC Merwede. It will be commissioned in late 2009. The same yard is working on the technical and design specifications for a new self-propelled cutter. We expect to complete the negotiations in mid-2008. In mid-2007 we commissioned another Dutch yard to build two backhoes, which will be among the biggest in the world. Both backhoes will be delivered in 2008. We also have six sand transport barges with a hopper capacity of 10,000 m3 being built in China. They will be deployed on the Palm Deira project in Dubai. Negotiations on the construction of four self-propelled, sea-going split barges with a 2,800 m3 capacity are well under way. Financing The available lines of credit come to a total of EUR 453 million with a remaining term to maturity ranging from six to eight years. The total sum taken out in loans is EUR 160 million. The interest rate risk on the available credit lines has been covered on the futures market, based on the anticipated drawdown periods in the years ahead. Cash at bank and in hand came to EUR 346 million in late 2007. Environment The marine contracting sector accounts for a significant share of the Dutch economy. The Netherlands has a great deal of know-how and experience in marine and delta technology. This challenges Van Oord to link its business operations to corporate social responsibility. Van Oord is aware of and in its project actively involved in the natural environment and the community. Our approach has been bolstered by our active involvement in setting up a leading centre of expertise, Ecoshape, which explores the interaction between marine infrastructure and ecology. Ecoshape’s theme is “building with nature”. Its total budget for the next five years is approximately EUR 25 million. Fifty percent of this is donated by the market participants (leading contractors, consultants and research institutes). The remainder is financed by government. Prospects Our profitability forecast for the year ahead remains favourable. As our existing equipment is almost fully deployed, we anticipate a limited increase in turnover, mainly derived from related activities such as soil improvement, rockwork and earth-moving work. The focus in 2008 will be on recruiting, training and embedding of new employees in our company culture. Besides that the implementation of our major investment programme will require a lot of attention. The General Meeting of Shareholders will take place on 8 May 2008. Enclosure: key figures For further information A.G.M. Groothuizen, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com830Today Van Oord’s Managing Director John van Herwijnen signed the contract for the Maasvlakte 2 port expansion project at Rotterdam. Van Oord has a 50% stake in the PUMA consortium, which will be carrying out phase 1 of the project. The total value of the contract for this phase amounts to more than EUR 1 billion. ‘It is precisely our involvement in impressive land reclamation projects elsewhere in the world – for example The Palm and The World in Dubai – makes us proud to show our capabilities in our own country,’ declared John van Herwijnen.The first part of the Maasvlakte 2 site will be constructed between 2008 and 2013. Under the contract, the consortium will construct 11 km of seawall, the first 700 ha or so of the new port site (900 ha in total), and 3 km of quay walls. It will also dig the port basins to their required depth and build 11 km of roads. The contract further stipulates that the consortium will be responsible for maintaining the Maasvlakte 2 seawall for an initial five-year period after the work is completed. The project will require 240 million m³ of sand, 7.5 million tonnes of stone and concrete blocks. The first container terminal will begin to operate in 2013. Van Oord is building tomorrow's infrastructure around the world. Its core activities are dredging, offshore services, coastal construction, and infrastructure (marine and land-based). The company has 4,000 employees worldwide working in more than 26 countries. Van Oord has a large, state-of-the-art fleet that is currently being expanded on a massive scale. The challenges associated with climate change, the global increase in goods transport, and the growing demand for oil and gas are giving Van Oord the opportunity to boost its leading position in marine construction. For further informationMr A.G.M. Groothuizen, manager Marketing and Public Relations, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com829The area Offshore of Van Oord has been awarded several various projects in Norway, Denmark, Australia and South Korea. The award of the Ormen Lange II contract in Norway requires rock installation to protect the subsea templates and infield pipelines in over 800 m of water. The amount of rock to be installed is approximately 650,000 tonnes. This contract with StatoilHydro has a value of EUR 28 million. The works will be executed in various campaigns this year and in 2009 by the flexible fallpipe vessel Nordnes.Danish client DONG requires scour protection around 92 wind turbines foundations at the Horns Rev 2 Wind Farm. A total amount of approximately 85,000 tonnes is required. The contract value of this project, that is due to be completed in 2008, is EUR 7 million. Side stone dumping vessel HAM 601 will be deployed on this project. In Australia the Pluto Offshore dredging project, involving pre-trenching of 6 km of the pipeline route with its landfall in Dampier on the coast of Western Australia, will be executed during the first half of 2008. This contract, awarded by client Woodside, has a value of EUR 19 million. The backhoe dredger Hippopotes will carry out the work. Drilling and blasting and onshore works are part of the scope as well. Also in Australia the Blacktip shore approach will be constructed for an offshore pipeline from the ENI operated field to shore. Main contractor Saipem is responsible for the offshore pipeline installation and has subcontracted Van Oord for the trenching and backfilling works and the pipepull of 2 x 2 km for 12 inch and 18 inch pipelines. The backhoe dredger Hippopotes will be used to execute this project in the second half of 2008. The total subcontract value is some EUR 16 million. In South Korea a contract with Client SKEC has recently been signed for the trenching and rock protection works over approximately 7 km of 42 inch pipelines from two offhore loading buoys to shore. For this project, known as the Ulsan Buoy Relocation Project the dredging works will be executed by the trailing suction hopper dredger Volvox Delta, while the side stone dumping vessel Jan Steen will be used to execute the rock protection works dumping more than 1 million tonnes of rock over a period of approximately 6 months. With a contract value of USD 25 million, the project will run until the end of this year. For further informationMr A.G.M. Groothuizen, manager Marketing and Public Relations, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com828Dredging and marine contractor Van Oord has completed the prestigious land reclamation project The World in the emirate of Dubai. The World is a group of 300 artificial islands four km off the coast of Dubai that have been shaped in the form of the continents. The project covers a surface area of 9 x 7 km and was completed in the record time of little more than four years. The islands can now provide the setting for hotels, apartments and villas. This is the next immense project, visible from space.Project execution commenced in October 2003. Fifteen trailing suction hopper dredgers have reclaimed a total of 320 million m3 of sand from the sea to form the islands. For comparison purposes: that is the equivalent of a 2 m wide, 4 m high Chinese Wall that stretches around the world. In addition, 34 million tonnes of stone have been used to construct the longest breakwater in the world, a 27 km long structure protecting the islands from the sea. That is four times the amount of stone used to build the Oosterscheldt storm surge barrier. For a number of years Van Oord will continue to be closely involved in the remainder of this project. According to Hamza Mustaffa, the managing director of Nakheel, Van Oord‘s client, ‘We intend to continue our successful collaboration in the years ahead.’ Van Oord’s work will include compacting the subsoil and building quay walls. Van Oord is working on several marine construction projects in Dubai. Following the first palm island, the much-discussed Palm Jumeirah, The World was the next extraordinary land reclamation project that Van Oord completed in Dubai. Palm Deira, a colossal islands project ten times the size of Palm Jumeirah, is still under construction and will be completed in 2014-2015. Van Oord is building tomorrow's infrastructure around the world. Its core activities are dredging, offshore services, coastal construction, and infrastructure (marine and land-based). The company has 4,000 employees worldwide working in more than 26 countries. Van Oord has a large, state-of-the-art fleet that is currently being expanded on a massive scale. The challenges associated with climate change, the global increase in goods transport, and the growing demand for oil and gas are giving Van Oord the opportunity to boost its leading position in dredging and marine construction. For further information Mr A.G.M. Groothuizen, manager Marketing and Public Relations, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com Photographs are available for the printing press: Please contact the Marketing and Public Relations Secretary, T 31 10 4478417827Van Oord has been awarded a ten year maintenance dredging contract in the ports of Taranaki, Tauranga and Timaru, New Zealand. The total contract value amounts to some EUR 13 million. Clients are the port authorities of the before mentioned three ports. This contract is an extension of the existing contract and means approximately 15 weeks per year deployment of trailing suction hopper dredger Pelican for the period 2008 - 2017.Client Cockburn Cement Ltd has extended the existing contract for the supply of shell sand for the period 2010 – 2017. The total contract value amounts to some EUR 25 million and will be executed with the trailing suction hopper dredger Volvox Anglia.  The Port of Brisbane Corporation has awarded the dredging contract in the port of Brisbane to Van Oord. The total contract value amounts to some EUR 17 million. The activities for the dredging and reclamation of 2.4 million m3 of sand have already been started. The project is scheduled for completion in March/April 2008. For further information A.G.M. Groothuizen, manager Marketing and Public Relations, T 31 10 4478234,E info@vanoord.com826Mr Jac.G. van Oord, member of the Supervisory Board and former CEO, has been invested as Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau.The Royal Honour was presented to him on 27 April 2012 in The Hague by Mr M.J.M. Verhagen, Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation. From 1995 until his retirement in 2008, Mr Van Oord was Chairman of the Board of Management. In 2003, under his leadership, Van Oord ACZ and Ballast Ham Dredging were merged, which transformed the company into one of the largest marine engineering companies in the world. His reputation, expertise and great involvement were reasons why Mr Van Oord was asked to join the Dutch New Delta committee (2007) and to become the figurehead of the Dutch Top Team Water (2011). Mr Van Oord has held many social positions and still continues to do so.1586• Turnover rises to EUR 1,715 million • Net profit EUR 118 million • Order portfolio at EUR 1.7 billion • Turnover evenly attributable to our various operations • Offshore activities expanded • Maasvlakte 2 project on schedule • Australian market position improved • Dredging market under pressure in 2012Van Oord's turnover in 2011 was EUR 1,715 million (2010 EUR 1,578 million) and was evenly attributable to activities performed by our divisions and areas. The net profit for 2011 amounted to EUR 118 million (2010: EUR 165 million, including an extraordinary tax gain of EUR 40 million). CEO Pieter van Oord: ‘Given the state of the market, the profits were somewhere between reasonable and good. A higher level of activities was achieved in 2011. A hard seawall was constructed as part of the Maasvlakte 2 Rotterdam port expansion project, with this construction being a milestone in one of the largest marine engineering projects ever executed in Europe. We used the E-crane that was developed to lay approximately 20,000 40-ton concrete blocks as part of that project. From an international perspective, winning contracts for a number of projects in Australia has strengthened our market position there.' The net profit expressed as a percentage of turnover was 6.9% (2010: 7.9%, excluding an extraordinary tax gain). As at 31 December 2011, our order portfolio stood at EUR 1,694 million, lower than it was at the end of 2010 (EUR 1,856 million). The cutter suction dredger and trailing suction hopper dredger section of our fleet had a somewhat lower deployment rate than it did in 2010, while the deployment rate for flexible fallpipe vessels increased over that in 2010.FinancingVan Oord is financially healthy. Cash at bank and in hand came to EUR 198 million at year-end 2011. The loans drawn amounted to EUR 426 million. Our new investment programme, combined with decreasing credit arrangements, increased our need for additional financing possibilities. In 2011, we attracted new financing in the form of a US Private Placement obtained from American and British institutional investors, as well as a new credit facility from a consortium of international banks. At year-end 2011, we more than met the agreed financing conditions for both loans.StrategyPieter van Oord: ‘In 2011, we continued implementing our strategy for 2011-2015 and the corresponding policy. In addition to strengthening our activities in the dredging market, particularly in the cutter suction dredging segment, this led to an expansion of our offshore activities. An important new activity in this division will be laying pipelines in shallow water. In addition, the position of our offshore wind organisation has been strengthened by an investment in a new transport and installation vessel and the additions to our staff complement. In the Netherlands, we are increasing our focus on upcoming large-scale infrastructure projects.'InvestmentsVan Oord continues to invest in new vessels and other equipment. In 2011, the first self-propelled cutter suction dredger, Athena, and our new flexible fallpipe vessel, Stornes, were deployed. Currently, in addition to the installation vessel to be used in constructing offshore wind parks, we are having two other ships constructed: a second self-propelled cutter suction dredger and a ship for laying pipelines in connection with our shallow-water offshore activities. PeopleIn 2011, Van Oord's staff complement increased from approximately 4,400 to over 5,000 people. Most of the new staff were hired in our offices outside the Netherlands, especially in Australia. We have also hired additional Dutch nationals.Pieter van Oord: ‘Recruiting and retaining highly qualified technical staff on the Dutch labour market remains a focus area. This led us to further expand the Van Oord Academy, our internal knowledge institution, in 2011. All of our internal and external training courses will be provided through this institution.' Safety, sustainability and the environmentOur safety performance in 2011 remained consistent, continuing our long-standing trend of reducing the frequency of accidents. The number of days of absenteeism due to accidents has fallen by 65% over the last three years. This means that our efforts over the years to develop a culture of safety throughout our company has resulted in substantially fewer accidents and reduced absenteeism. We made several forward strides in the areas of sustainability and the environment in 2011. The Building with Nature knowledge programme we helped establish, was applied more often in practice. Van Oord continued monitoring and reducing its CO2 footprint in 2011.Our Activities in 2011 The NetherlandsMost of our activities in the Netherlands were concentrated in coastal areas. One notable project that Van Oord has been involved in since 2009 is the construction of the Maasvlakte 2 Rotterdam port expansion project. In terms of scope, the work being carried out as a joint venture on this project is equivalent to the other projects Van Oord has completed in Dubai (Palm Jumeirah and The World), and it is one of the largest marine engineering projects that has ever been undertaken in Europe. One extraordinary achievement in 2011 was the construction of a hard seawall by using the E-crane to place some 20,000 40-ton concrete blocks.Another important project we were involved with was the Sand Motor (Deltaduin) project, in which we used an innovative coastal reinforcement method to put more than 21.5 million cubic metres of sand into the North Sea between Ter Heijde and Kijkduin. Asia and AustraliaVan Oord's growth on the Australian market can be attributed to the construction of large infrastructure projects aimed at the export of coal, ore and gas. The work done for Rio Tinto in such locations as Cape Lambert, as well as the Gladstone joint venture project, further strengthened Van Oord's Australian market position. OffshoreOur Offshore division operates worldwide in the oil and gas market. We are maintaining a high activity level, with our contracts for protecting oil and gas pipelines (SRI, Subsea Rock Installation) promising to increase this level still further thanks to our deployment of the new flexible fallpipe vessel Stornes.The Offshore division also maintains a high activity level in Russia. In addition to excavating and back-filling the pipeline trenches for the Arkutun Dagi Field Development project on Sakhalin island on behalf of Exxon Mobile, the Offshore division is also doing work to facilitate pipeline connections to the mainland. EuropeNo new activities were undertaken in countries such as France, the UK and Germany due to the unstable economic conditions in Europe. In contrast, the market for maintenance work in these countries remained level. Our activities also remained level in the countries on the Baltic and Caspian Seas. We contracted the harbour expansion in Klaipeda, Luthuania and we commenced work on the International Seaport Baku project in Azerbaijan.Middle East, Mediterranean and Southwest AsiaThe Middle Eastern market has shifted from large land reclamation projects to activities relating to the oil and gas industry. One of the larger projects in this region is the 200-hectare expansion of the existing oil and gas island of Das in Abu Dhabi.The economic conditions in the Mediterranean have resulted in few new projects. Van Oord did expand Bilbao harbour in Spain. The activity level in India was clearly lower in 2011 than it had been in previous years. Americas and AfricaWork in the Americas and Africa increased sharply in 2011. The markets in these regions were largely driven by investments in the maritime and energy sectors. Van Oord was active throughout the Americas, from Costa Rica to Mexico and Brazil. In Africa, projects were carried out in Mozambique, Kenya and Nigeria. Offshore Wind ProjectsAfter successfully completing the Belwind park comprising 55 wind turbines at sea off the Belgian coast, the Offshore Wind Projects business unit's activities largely consisted of accepting contracts for and preparing several new wind parks. Van Oord's role primarily focuses on working as an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor. A start was made on the Teesside Offshore Wind Farm for EDF Energy Renewables. We also completed two meteorological masts on the Dutch and German coasts. WicksThe Wicks business unit focuses on soil-improvement projects around the world using vertical and horizontal drainage and soil compaction techniques. Wicks also performs underwater drilling and blasting work. In 2011, projects were carried out in the Netherlands, the Middle East, Australia and Brazil.Prospects for 2012Pieter van Oord: ‘The global economy will continue to be highly volatile in 2012. We do not expect it to be an easy year for our company. Specifically, we expect there to be lower employment rates on the dredging market for our vessels. The growth we expect will likely occur in the oil and gas market, as well as in the areas of constructing offshore wind parks and large infrastructure projects in the Netherlands. This summer we will move into our new head office at Nieuwe Maas in Rotterdam. The long-term development of our most important market drivers instils us with confidence for the future.' The General Meeting of Shareholders will be held on 26 April 2012. Enclosure: key figures 2011   Note for editors, not for publicationMore information: Robert de Bruin, manager Communication and Markets, T 31 10 4478234, M 31 653440890, ror@vanoord.com. This press release is based on the annual accounts as prepared and pending approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders. In accordance with a statutory rule, the annual accounts have not yet been published. An external auditor will issue an opinion on the annual accounts.1575Rotterdam, 22 December 2011 - Shareholder Koninklijke BAM Groep nv (BAM) and a consortium, consisting of three Dutch investment companies (Janivo, Breedinvest, Rinkelberg) and one Belgian investment company (Cobepa), have announced that they have reached agreement on the transfer of Van Oord shares.BAM is transferring its 21.5% share in Van Oord nv to the consortium. BAM has been a Van Oord shareholder since the merger of Van Oord ACZ and Ballast Ham Dredging in 2003. Mr N.J. de Vries will step down as a member of the Van Oord Supervisory Board as of today. The resulting vacancy will be filled shortly. Van Oord now has two shareholders: the Van Oord family combined in MerweOord B.V. (78.5%) and the consortium (21.5%). For more information R.E. (Robert) de Bruin, Communication and Markets Manager, T 31 10 4478234, M 31 (0)6 53440890, E info@vanoord.com.1521Rotterdam, 22 December 2011 - Van Oord has reached an agreement in principle on the acquisition of the Dutch company of Van Haaften-Van Oord in Werkendam as of 1 January 2012. This acquisition will strengthen Van Oord's position on the Dutch market for dredging, coastal and shore protection work. An acquisition of the independent company of Van Haaften-Van Oord is in line with the Van Oord strategy. This development will advance the company's position with respect to dredging projects for creating more room for rivers and for the future Delta Plan. Further informationR.E. (Robert) de Bruin, Communication and Markets Manager, T 31 10 4478234,M 31 6 53440890, E info@vanoord.com.1519Van Oord’s new flexible fallpipe vessel, the Stornes, was christened on 24 September. The event, which was attended by hundreds of guests and Van Oord employees, took place at the Wilhelmina dock in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The christening ceremony was performed by Mrs J. van Vonno, wife of former Supervisory Director W. van Vonno.The Stornes is an ocean-going vessel that will be used mainly in the oil and gas industry for precision protection of pipelines and cables down to a depth of 2,000 m. It is the third and - with a loading capacity of 27,000 tonnes - also the largest flexible fallpipe vessel in the Van Oord fleet. The Stornes was built at the CIMC Raffles yard in Yantai, China, where it was launched on 20 August 2010. The name of the new vessel, Stornes, is in keeping with the tradition of flexible fallpipe vessels in the Van Oord fleet (Tertnes, Nordnes). Nes is an ancient word for a peninsula in both Dutch and Norwegian. Stor is the Norwegian word for large. ‘Stornes' therefore means ‘large peninsula'. The construction of the Stornes is part of Van Oord's comprehensive investment programme for 2011-2015 period, amounting to almost EUR 1 billion. Main features Name Stornes Type flexible fallpipe vessel Length 175 m Width 26 m Total power installed 16,182 kW Loading capacity 27,000 tonnes                                 The growth of the global economy and the expanding world population are generating a rising demand for energy worldwide. The offshore infrastructure necessary to transport fuel is being extended and improved all the time. By deploying this vessel, Van Oord is enhancing its position as a leading offshore marine contractor. Further informationR.E. (Robert) de Bruin, Corporate Communication and Markets Manager, T 31 10 4478234, M 31 6 53440890, E info@vanoord.com1497Van Oord has been awarded two dredging projects in the port of Suape, Brazil. Together the two contracts are worth more than EUR 165 million. The client is Suape Complexo Industrial Portuario Governador Eraldo Gueiros, the port authority for the State of Pernambuco. Work on the two projects is scheduled to begin in late 2011.In the first project, Van Oord will deepen the access channel to the industrial port of Suape. The work will involve removing 5 million m3 of earth. Approximately 1 million m3 consists of rock, some of which will require drilling and blasting. Deepening the access channel from -15 m to -20 m is a key objective in the port's growth plans and part of a strategy to boost the economic development of Pernambuco. The project will be completed in September 2013. The second project involves dredging an access channel and basin for the new Promar shipyard. Approximately 6 million m3 of material will be dredged, some of which will be used to create a new industrial site for the port. The remainder will be deposited at sea. The project will be completed in May 2012. Van Oord will deploy two trailing suction hopper dredgers (large and small), a drilling and blasting platform, and a large cutter suction dredger on the projects. These two projects once again enhance Van Oord's position in South America. Van Oord has been active in Brazil since 1985; since 1995, it has carried out various development projects in the port of Suape. More informationRobert de Bruin, Corporate Communication and Markets Manager, T 0031 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com.1495Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd and Dredging International (Australia) Pty Ltd have been awarded a third contract for the Western Basin Main Works Dredging at the Port of Gladstone. This third contract signed with the Gladstone Ports Corporation on 15 July 2011 represents a value of EUR 90 million (AUD 120 million) and involves the dredging of Parcel 7 for the Western Basin Development. The total value of the three contracts awarded to date by the Gladstone Ports Corporation to the Joint Venture for the same Western Basin development exceeds AUD 925 million (EUR 695 million).The dredging volume of Parcel 7 will be approximately 2.9 million m3 for the construction of one coal berth, comprising a berth pocket, berth pocket extension, departure/arrival channel and a swing basin. The multi-billion dollar industry-funded Wiggins Island Coal Terminal is expected to provide 80 million tonnes per annum in additional export coal capacity through the Port of Gladstone once fully commissioned. The Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal Pty Ltd (WICET) is owned and being developed by existing and potential coal exporters in Queensland. The total scope of work for all three contracts awarded to date to the Joint Venture Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd and Dredging International (Australia) Pty Ltd includes the dredging of various channels, swing basins and bypass channels for the access to various berth pockets, embarkation docks and material offloading facilities. The total dredging volume of the three contracts will exceed 27 million m3 of dredged material. Dredging has commenced in early June and will be completed in 2014. A heavy-duty cutter suction dredger with floating booster stations, a large trailing suction hopper dredger, a number of backhoes and a spread of splitbarges will be deployed to execute these important dredging assignments. Special attention will be given to the Environmental Management and the Management of the possible Acid Sulphate Soil in the reclamation area. All environmental and dredging plans are verified and permits are in place. The dredging of the Western Basin Dredging Project will facilitate both the provision of increased long term export coal capacity and the export of the LNG produced at the facilities under construction in Gladstone. The EUR 985 million (AUD 1.3 billion) development of the Western Basin area will expand the footprint of Queensland's largest multi-commodity port and will make the Port of Gladstone one of the largest ports in Australia. Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd is part of the Dutch, Rotterdam based, dredging and marine contractor Van Oord. Further informationRobert de Bruin, Corporate Communication and Markets Manager, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com. Please find high resolution photo, free of copyrights, in the download centre of the Van Oord website.1478Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd and Dredging International (Australia) Pty Ltd have been awarded the second contract for the Western Basin Main Works Dredging at the Port of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. This second contract signed on the 12th May 2011 with the Gladstone Ports Corporation involves the dredging of Parcels 1, 3 and 4 for the Western Basin Development. The value of this contract is EUR 415 million (AUD 545 million). The first contract for the same Western Basin Development and signed on the 4th March 2011, involved the works contained in Parcel 5 to the sum of AUD 260 million (EUR 190 million).Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd is part of the Dutch, Rotterdam based, dredging and offshore contractor Van Oord. Dredging International (Australia) is part of the Belgian dredging, environmental and hydraulic engineering Group DEME. The works under Parcels 1, 3 and 4 of the Western Basin Development project includes the dredging of various channels, swing basins and bypass channels to - 13 m LAT for the access to the various berth pockets, embarkation docks and material offloading facilities. A total volume of 18.5 million m3 will be dredged, of which about 2 million m3 will be disposed of at the East Bank Spoil Ground, at a sailing distance of 45 km, and 16.5 million m3 will be pumped ashore at the Western Basin reclamation area to create a new port area for the Port of Gladstone adjacent to the existing Fisherman's Landing reclamation area. The actual dredging works will start after the completion of the first contract (Parcel 5) in March 2012 and will be completed in December 2014. A heavy-duty Cutter Suction Dredger with floating booster stations and a large Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger will be deployed to execute this important dredging assignment. Special attention will be given to the Environmental Management and the Management of the Possible Acid Sulphate Soil in the reclamation area. All environmental and dredging plans are verified and permits are in place. The dredging of the Western Basin Dredging Project will facilitate the export of the LNG produced at the facilities under construction in Gladstone. Within the largest LNG scheme in Australia, Coal Seam Gas (coal bed methane), produced in the Surat and Bowen basins in eastern Queensland, will be transported by pipeline over 450 km to the gas liquefaction plants on Curtis Island in Gladstone for conversion into LNG. The formal funding parties for these facilities are QCLNG (BG Group), APLNG (Origin and ConocoPhillips), GLNG (Santos, PETRONAS, Total and KOGAS) and Arrow CSG (Arrow Energy). This AUD 1.3 billion (EUR 985 million) development of the Western Basin area will expand the footprint of Queensland's largest multi-commodity port and will make the Port of Gladstone one of the largest ports in Australia. Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} Further information A.G.M. Groothuizen, Corporate Communication and Markets Manager, T 31 10 4478234,M 31 6 22497880, E info@vanoord.com.    1437Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd and Dredging International (Australia) Pty Ltd have been awarded the Western Basin Main Works Dredging – Parcel 5 contract in the Port of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia. The client of this AUD 260 million (EUR 190 million) contract is the Queensland Gladstone Ports Corporation. The contract was signed on 4th March 2011 in Gladstone. Van Oord Australia Pty Ltd is part of the Dutch, Rotterdam based, dredging and offshore contractor Van Oord and is the sponsor within the 50/50 VODI Joint Venture. Dredging International (Australia) is part of the Belgian dredging, environmental and hydraulic engineering Group DEME.The works under Parcel 5 of the WBDD project include dredging to - 7.5 m of a 3 km access channel and several access channel ramifications as well as several berth pockets. The specific aim of the Parcel 5 dredging works is to allow access of all construction equipment to the so called Material Offloading Facility on Curtis Island as well as to allow an early start of the actual berths construction. A total volume of 6 million m3 will be dredged, of which about 4 million m3 will be disposed of in strictly defined disposal areas 45 km offshore. The remainder will be pumped ashore to create a provisional new port area in the Port of Gladstone. The actual dredging works will start on 2nd June 2011 and have a contractual execution period of 40 weeks. Heavy-duty dredging equipment will be mobilized to complete this important dredging assignment. Two backhoe dredgers, a backactor and a spread of splitbarges will start the works in June. As from August 2011 they will be joined by a seagoing cutter dredger to perform the planned reclamation works. The works represent the first stage of the Western Basin Dredging Project (WBDD) that will allow the construction of all planned LNG facilities in Gladstone. Within the largest LNG scheme in Australia coal seam gas (coalbed methane) produced in the Surat and Bowen basins in eastern Queensland will be piped 435 km to gas liquefaction plants on Curtis Island in Gladstone for conversion into LNG. The formal funding parties for these facilities are Queensland CLNG (BG Group) and Gladstone LNG (Santos, Petronas and partners). The entire project is subdivided into 7 independent Parcels with a total budget of approx. AUD 1,300 million (EUR 950 million). For the overall project an environmental impact statement (EIS) has been prepared and approved. Only a few weeks ago, Dredging International (Australia) Pty Ltd completed the Gladstone early works dredging and Fisherman's reclamation works, which were the prelude to this important new contract.Further information A.G.M. Groothuizen, Corporate Communication and Markets Manager, T 31 10 4478234, M 31 6 22497880, E info@vanoord.com.    1415Turnover rises to EUR 1,578 million, net profit EUR 165 million, company financially very healthy, order portfolio stands at EUR 1.9 billion, new investment programme of EUR 1 billion.2010 turned out to be an excellent year for Van Oord. A solid level of capacity utilisation, both staff and equipment, and the extraordinary tax gain led to an outstanding profit of EUR 165 million. We continued our 2009 strategy and achieved a balanced geographical distribution of turnover. Our markets developed favourably in the second half of the year, as world trade recovered and larger volumes of cargo passed through the world s biggest ports. This ultimately led to a higher tender volume than in 2009, although that volume remained well below 2008, our top year so far. Turnover and profitsVan Oord´s turnover in 2010 was EUR 1,578 million (2009: EUR 1,424 million). Net profits, including an extraordinary tax gain of EUR 40 million, rose to EUR 165 million (2009: EUR 120 million). There was some pressure on margins in 2010, but that was offset by a solid level of staff and equipment capacity utilisation. On balance, this resulted in a profitability of 7.9% of turnover (2009: 8.4%), excluding extraordinary tax gains. At 31 December 2010, our order portfolio stood at EUR 1,856 million, an improvement on the previous year (EUR 1,777 million). Capacity utilisation figures were higher in our most important fleet segments - trailing suction hopper dredgers and cutter suction dredgers - but lower in the flexible fall pipe vessel segment compared with 2009. Our activities NetherlandsCompared with the previous year, the volume of activity in the Dutch market was stable in 2010. Projects were increasingly awarded on the basis of the ´most economically advantageous tender´. There is much momentum in the Dutch infrastructure market, but margins there remain under pressure. Van Oord is part (50% stake), of PUMA the consortium carrying out the Maasvlakte 2 port expansion project in Rotterdam. The project is making steady progress. By late 2010, some 180 million m3 of sand had been supplied and deposited (75% of the total) and more than 3 million tonnes of rock had been delivered (45% of the total). In December 2010, the Dutch Department of Public Works awarded the Sand Motor project to a consortium in which Van Oord has a 50% stake. The Sand Motor project involves depositing a huge quantity of sand off the coast of Delfland near the village of Ter Heijde. Wind, waves and ocean currents will gradually distribute the sand along the coast. Using the ´building with nature´ principle makes it possible to protect the coast naturally against the sea. EuropeOur activities in Europe suffered noticeably from the effects of the financial crisis that began in 2008. The United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Germany struggled with cuts in government spending and are facing further economy measures in the years ahead. The crisis also affected the Baltic States. There was no decline in activity in south eastern Europe and the region around the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, however. Middle East and MediterraneanThere was relatively little activity in the Middle East in 2010. The nature of our work shifted from land reclamation to port development and energy-related projects. The recent award of a number of large-scale projects may indicate that the Middle Eastern market will recover in 2011. Nakheel in Dubai halted all projects in 2010, but we are working for other clients there. Dravo SA, a joint venture between Van Oord and the Spanish firm Dragados, had an excellent year in 2010, with projects in Spain and surrounding countries. America and AfricaVan Oord was very busy in the America and Africa regions in 2010. Turnover was at a particularly high level in Nigeria and Brazil. Our company was closely involved in many projects carried out under a government-run port-expansion programme in Brazil. Asia and AustraliaBusiness continued to be relatively quiet in Singapore. Beyond Singapore, we carried out projects in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. India is the centre of our activities in South-West Asia. Much of our work there involved large port development projects carried out for private clients. The growing volume of raw material exports led to an upturn in the market in Australia. OffshoreOur Offshore Division operates worldwide in the oil and gas market. Van Oord was once again very busy in this market in 2010. We undertook a number of important projects in Russia and the United Arab Emirates. We maintained our position in the market for rock installation projects in the North Sea. In Brazil we took on deep water rock installation projects to protect oil and gas pipelines. Offshore Wind ProjectsAfter commencing in the autumn of 2009, we continued work on the Belwind phase 1 wind farm project, which began operating officially in December 2010. This 165 Mw wind farm, located off the Belgian coast, was built in the record time of fifteen months. The project was carried out entirely under our management, based on an EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) contract. WicksThe Wicks business unit specialises in underwater drilling and blasting, soil compaction, and vertical drainage. In 2010, we took on more underwater drilling and blasting projects. We undertook projects in Australia and Sweden, among other places. Outside the Netherlands, Wicks carried out vertical drainage projects in Portugal, Latvia, Malaysia, Singapore, Mozambique and other countries. Investments in equipmentMany of the new build investment projects launched in the 2006-2009 period were completed in 2010. The final three of a total of six sand carriers, four self-propelled split barges, and a gigantic backhoe were delivered in 2010. We also purchased four tugboats for the sand carriers. The newest and biggest flexible fall pipe vessel in the Van Oord fleet, the Stornes, was launched in August 2010 in China. It will be operational in mid- 2011. Construction of a large self-propelled cutter suction dredger Athena is right on schedule. The cutter was launched to enthusiastic applause on 12 February 2011 at the IHC Dredgers B.V. yard in Kinderdijk, Netherlands. The Athena will be operational by the autumn of 2011. Van Oord has decided on another extensive investment programme worth approximately EUR 1 billion. The company ordered a sister vessel for the Athena in December 2010. It will be named Artemis and will be operational by spring 2013. The decision to build a second large self-propelled cutter suction dredger demonstrates our confidence in the growing world market for port development. Van Oord placed a further order in December 2010 with Sietas in Hamburg, Germany, for a jack-up transport and installation vessel, used to construct offshore wind farms. The vessel will be completed in autumn 2012. Our long-term investment programme also includes other additions to our fleet, including trailing suction hopper dredgers and offshore equipment. PeopleAfter staff reductions in 2009, the number of employees grew considerably in 2010 thanks to the recovering market and our busy schedule. Most of the staff increase took place at our branches outside the Netherlands. FinancingOur company is financially very healthy. With solvency standing at 34.5% and our capital base at 37% of total assets, the company´s financial basis is sound. At year-end, net cash in bank and at hand stood at EUR 200 million. The sum taken out in loans was EUR 216 million. The new investment programme will require extra financing capacity. In addition, many of the available lines of credit are due in the next two years and subject to refinancing. The necessary arrangements will be completed in the first half of 2011. ProspectsThe increasing world population, the growing world economy, the rising volume of world trade and the growing demand for energy are all having a positive influence on the development of our markets and activities. Countering these positive trends is the fact that governments in Western Europe are being forced to economise, and will do so in part by limiting their spending on infrastructure projects. Because the emerging economies beyond Europe are much larger than the markets in Western Europe we remain positive about the future. The General Meeting of Shareholders will take place on 21 April 2011. Enclosure: key figures For more informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, manager Communication and Markets, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com This press release is based on the annual accounts as prepared and pending approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders. In accordance with a statutory rule, the annual accounts have not yet been published. An external auditor will issue an auditor's report of the annual accounts.1414Van Oord's largest self-propelled cutter suction dredger Athena was named and launched at the IHC Merwede shipyard in Kinderdijk on 12 February last. The Athena is the largest ever cutter suction dredger built in the Netherlands for a Dutch dredging company. What is more, the Athena is one of the largest cutter suction dredgers in the world. The vessel will be operational in October 2011.The vessel is Van Oord's first self-propelled cutter suction dredger. The ceremony was performed by Mrs A.M. van Oord-Groen, the wife of Mr J.G. van Oord Sr. (formerly both chairman and supervisory director of Van Oord). The contract for the design, construction and delivery of the vessel was signed on 4 September 2008, after which the keel was laid on 19 February 2010. The vessel is equipped with the latest dredging technology, which makes it suitable for working on hard ground and rock down to a depth of more than 32 metres. The designers paid particular attention to ergonomics and living conditions on board. For example, the entire accommodation section is suspended in order to counteract vibrations. Once it is operational, the Athena will be provided with a Green Passport and a Clean Ship Notation, both from Bureau Veritas. The Athena is the first dredger in the world to be awarded a Clean Ship Notation. The name Athena is in line with Van Oord's tradition of naming its cutter suction dredgers after heroes and gods from Greek or Roman mythology. The Greek goddess Athena is known not only as the goddess of wisdom but also as the goddess of war. This new vessel is indeed a powerful weapon for Van Oord in its battle with the competition. At the end of 2010, Van Oord awarded the contract for the construction of a second powerful, self-propelled cutter suction dredger, Artemis, a sister ship for the Athena. The construction of the Athena and Artemis forms part of Van Oord's massive investment programme for the period 2007-2015, amounting to almost EUR 2 billion. This will enable Van Oord to strengthen its position as the leading contractor in all segments of the world dredging market. The construction of the two ships represents a major boost for the Dutch marine engineering cluster.Please click here for high resolution photos of the naming and launch of largest Dutch cutter suction dredger and take a look at the homepage for the movie of the launch.1385  EUR 1,424 million turnover and EUR 120 million net profits Excellent profitability Financially healthy company Order portfolio up to standard  Turnover and profits Van Oord’s turnover was EUR 1,424 million in 2009 (2008: EUR 1,896 million). Net profits were EUR 120 million (2008: EUR 165 million). Profitability – expressed as a percentage of turnover – remained high at 8.4% (2008: 8.7%). We achieved healthy results in virtually every region of the world, with a good balance between people and equipment on the one hand and available work on the other. In addition, almost none of our projects in the past year were loss-making. Loss of turnover in the Middle East was compensated in part by a rise in turnover in other parts of the world. In early 2009, we adjusted our organisation to the reduced turnover in Dubai. We did this not only in Dubai itself, where hundreds of jobs were cut, but also, to a limited extent, at our headquarters in Rotterdam. Because our activities are distributed worldwide, we were able to deploy our international employees and equipment elsewhere. That means that turnover has increased in our Netherlands, Brazil, Nigeria and India regions in particular. The same goes for Offshore and the Offshore Wind Projects business unit. Order portfolio The large-scale land reclamation projects in Dubai that were postponed in late 2008 (valued at EUR 1,842 million) were deducted from our work in progress. At 31 December 2009, our order portfolio stood at EUR 1,777 million and is therefore up to standard (2008: EUR 1,798 million).Our regions and projects Netherlands (EUR 250 million turnover)In our organisation, this region encompasses both the Netherlands and Belgium. The most important projects in Van Oord’s domestic market involved coastal protection, river management, port expansion and infrastructure expansion. In 2009, the recommendations of the Delta Commission were laid down in the National Water Plan. The new plan provides the basis for all flood safety and marine engineering projects that will be carried out in future. The year 2009 was an extremely busy one in the Netherlands region. The construction of Maasvlakte 2, a new area of the Port of Rotterdam, will further boost the port’s continued development. Van Oord has a 50% stake in PUMA, the consortium carrying out the project. The work is progressing according to schedule. At the same time, Van Oord deployed a large number of trailing suction hopper dredgers on various coastal defence projects that formed part of the Netherlands‘ ‘Weak Links’ coastal defence programme, including the Hondsbossche and Pettemer Seawalls, the coast at Scheveningen, Delfland, Nolle West Dunes and between Nieuwvliet and Groede. Sand suppletion operations were carried out at Voorne and Texel as part of a regular maintenance programme. Van Oord also helped reinforce the foreshores of a number of dikes along the Oosterscheldt and Westerscheldt in the Zeeland delta. Among other dry infrastructure projects, we are part of a consortium contracted to widen the A4 motorway.Europe (EUR 110 million turnover)The Europe region encompasses the United Kingdom, Germany and Russia (where we have permanent branch offices) and the former Soviet republics. The worldwide economic crisis has been noticeable in this region. The former Soviet republics have been hit particularly hard, and various projects have been downsized or postponed. Our projects in Germany have been clustered in the northern part of the country and involve port development and maintenance. Coastal defences and port development are the two most important activities in the UK. Van Oord has reinforced its position in Scandinavia.America, Mediterranean and Africa (EUR 180 million turnover)This region covers three continents: North and South America, the Mediterranean and Africa.Brazil has been our home base in South America for twenty-five years. We have a permanent branch office in Rio de Janeiro and deploy our own equipment – sailing under the Brazilian flag – on projects in Brazil, in particular port projects in such places as Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Itajai, São Luis and Suape. The Brazilian market for marine contracting consists mainly of port and waterway maintenance. In Mexico, we were involved in the beach replenishment project in Cancun, important for the area’s tourism industry. For the past several years, we have been carrying out regular maintenance in Venezuela’s Orinoco River and the shipping lane in Lake Maracaibo.Spain is an important home base in the region, and our main activities there consist of port expansion and maintenance and beach maintenance. We have a joint venture in Spain with Dragados, one of Europe’s biggest contractors, which operates under the name Dravo S.A. This company has its own dredging equipment. Spain is also our base for projects in Portugal and Italy. Van Oord has been active non-stop in Nigeria since 1963. At the moment, our most important projects there involve work for the oil and gas industry, land reclamation, and maintenance to ensure the navigability of waterways. Our biggest and most significant project in 2009 involved deepening the River Niger. In Tunisia, we undertook maintenance work for the ports of La Goulette, Sfax and Radès. Middle East (EUR 216 million turnover)Much of our turnover in the Middle East evaporated, especially in Dubai. Land reclamation nevertheless continued to be a significant activity in 2009, although at a much lower level. Artificial islands are being constructed both in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Two of the Dubai islands, Pearl Jumeirah (part of the Jumeirah Garden Islands Project) and Al Mamzar (part of Palm Deira), will be zoned for residential accommodation. The island A6 near Al Dabby’ia, Abu Dhabi, is intended for the oil and gas industry. In addition to land reclamation, the two projects also involved coastal protection work. We deepened the harbour in the emirate of Ras al Khaimah and constructed a new breakwater. We also performed maintenance dredging in the cooling water intake channel of Subiya power station, work that falls under a five-year maintenance contract with the government of Kuwait. Phase 4 of the Sohar port expansion project in Oman began in 2009 and will be completed in 2010. Our contract with Jordan to dredge salt reefs in the Dead Sea has been renewed for another year. Asia and Australia (EUR 209 million turnover)India is an important site of Van Oord’s activities in the Asia and Australia region. Most of our work there concerns port development and maintenance, both required to meet the demands of the growing volume of maritime transport and the related economic development. Van Oord has a permanent branch office in Mumbai. We deploy equipment that sails under Indian flag on many of our projects. The Chinese economy has also continued its robust growth, but the market is a difficult one for foreign companies. Nevertheless, Van Oord once again deployed a cutter suction dredger in China. Our Shanghai office plays in important role in the purchase of equipment constructed in China. There was as yet no large-scale resumption of the supply of sand to Singapore, and our projects there made little progress as a result. Van Oord was involved in various maritime infrastructure development projects in Malaysia. The worldwide economic crisis affected Australia’s export of raw materials in the past year, and there were very few port projects put out to tender as a result. Offshore (EUR 302 million turnover)Van Oord continued to boost its position in the offshore energy infrastructure market. We concentrated on constructing landfalls for oil and gas pipelines, executing Engineering, Procurement and Construction contracts for offshore loading and unloading stations, and installing rock on the seabed to protect and stabilise pipelines. Van Oord undertakes these activities worldwide. In 2009, we were involved in projects in Russia (Baydaratskaya Bay), the North Sea (Ormen Lange), Ireland (Corrib), the Emirates (Fujairah) and Australia (Pluto).Offshore Wind Projects (EUR 148 million turnover)After successfully completing the Princess Amalia Windpark along the Dutch coast, we began the first phase of constructing the Belwind offshore wind farm off the coast of Belgium in mid-2009. After Econcern went into liquidation, new owners took over the concession for this wind farm. Van Oord is once again serving as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractor. The contract involves building the 55 foundations (including erosion protection) and complete electricity supply station for the wind turbines, installing the turbines, and connecting them to the Belgian electricity mains. We will finish our work in late 2010. Once the first phase of the project is completed in 2011, 165,000 households will benefit from clean energy. Wicks (EUR 9 million turnover)In late 2008, we concentrated our worldwide deep compaction, vertical drainage and drilling and blasting activities into a new business unit, Wicks. Wicks is an independent organisation that works for Van Oord and for third parties. Outside Europe, it focuses mainly on more specialised projects, for example installing vertical drainage facilities down to a depth of more than thirty metres. InvestmentInvestment in innovation and equipment is part of our long-term effort to offer our clients the best possible and most sustainable solutions to their problems. Our EUR 1 billion investment programme, which we launched in 2007, will run until the end of 2011. Our shipbuilding activities in China are of immense strategic importance in keeping the cost of our new vessels competitive.  We are proud that Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands christened and launched trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Máxima on 24 April 2009. The vessel’s hopper capacity is 31,200 m3. IHC Dredgers B.V. delivered the vessel on 21 January 2010, after which it was deployed on the Maasvlakte 2 port expansion project in Rotterdam. Backhoe Goliath was completed in 2009 and deployed on the port project in Barcelona, Spain. Backhoe Simson will be completed in the spring of 2010 and will be deployed on various European projects. Flexible fallpipe vessel Stornes, which has a capacity of 27,000 tonnes, is under construction at the Raffles yard in Yantai, China. The vessel will be completed in the autumn of 2010. We also had six sand transport barges constructed in Dalian, China, with a hopper capacity of 10,000 m3 each. The first three were completed in 2009. The final barge will be completed in March 2010. Four self-propelled split barges, named after famous Dutch maritime engineers (Jan Blanken, Jan Leeghwater, Pieter Caland and Cornelis Lely), are under construction at a yard in Dalian, China. Each one has a hopper capacity of 2850 m3. They will be completed in the spring of 2010. Two water-injection vessels, the Draga Tocatins and the Draga Rio Madeira, were constructed in Brazil. Both are now in operation. In early 2010, Van Oord laid the keel of giant self-propelled cutter suction dredger. The new vessel, which will be christened the Athena, will be one of the largest cutter suction dredgers in the world. It is being constructed at IHC Dredgers B.V. in Kinderdijk, Netherlands. FinancingThe available lines of credit come to a total of EUR 447 million with a remaining term to maturity ranging from two to seven years. The total sum taken out in loans is EUR 247 million. The interest rate risk on the available credit lines has been covered on the futures market, based on the anticipated drawdown periods in the years ahead. Cash at bank and in hand came to EUR 297 million at year-end. Our company is financially healthy. The credit lines are more than sufficient to cover the current investment programme. With solvency standing at 30.1% and our capital base at 32.7% of total assets, the company’s financial basis is sound.Prospects Conditions of stagnating growth prevail in many areas of the world. Our industry tends to lag behind the economic cycle, and that means that 2010 is likely to be a more difficult year for Van Oord. We expect our contract volume to decline. In view of the immense uncertainty involved, it is impossible for us to predict what our turnover or results will be in 2010. We have opportunities in new markets, for example offshore wind farms, and in existing markets, for example services to the offshore industry. In addition to our sound financial structure, we have a flexible organisation made up of individuals who are used to dealing creatively and efficiently with changing market circumstances. This gives us confidence about the future.The General Meeting of Shareholders will take place on 22 April 2010.For more informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, T 31 (0)10 4478234, M 31 (0)6 22497880,E info@vanoord.com For further financial details please click here For photos free of copy rights please click here This press release is based on the annual accounts as prepared and pending approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders. In accordance with a statutory rule, the annual accounts have not yet been published. An external auditor will issue an unqualified opinion of the annual accounts.1210Van Oord has taken on the job of dredging the harbour of Suape, Brazil. The contract value amounts to some EUR 35 million. The client is Suape Complexo Industrial Portuario Governador Eraldo Gueiros, port operator and public institution of the state of Pernambuco. Execution of the project will start mid December 2009 and will take six months to complete.The project involves dredging of the access to the shipyard Atlantico Sul in the harbour of Suape. Van Oord will dredge six million cubic metres, two million cubic metres of which will be reclaimed. The other four million cubic metres will be discharged at sea. Van Oord will deploy cutter suction dredger Hercules and trailing suction hopper dredger HAM 309 sailing under Brazilian flag. This new project enhances Van Oord's position in South America. This is Van Oord's second award in Brazil within two months. The company has been active in Brazil since 1985. In October Van Oord took on the job of deepening the harbour of Rio de Janeiro with a contract value of EUR 45 million. Van Oord offers solutions by creating new ports, constructing port facilities and maintaining harbour basins.1162Hydraulic backhoe dredger Simson was christened today at the Wilhelmina Quay in Rotterdam. The christening ceremony was performed by Mrs D. van Dam-van der Meer, wife of Mr Bart van Dam, who resigned as managing director of MerweOord (the Van Oord family business) on 1 December last. The Simson is a Backacter 1100 – a floating excavator with three spud poles fitted to a pontoon – and the largest category of hydraulic dredging crane in the world. It was designed and built in the Netherlands and will be used to dredge ports and provides services to the offshore industry worldwide.The vessel is moored alongside the Cruise Terminal next to Van Oord's newest trailing suction hopper dredger, the Vox Máxima. Today Van Oord is holding an ‘open house' in the terminal and on board the Vox Máxima for its employees and their families. A total of approximately 5,000 people will pay a visit to the vessel. The Simson is the sister ship of the Goliath, launched earlier this year. It will be equipped with a grab that holds 25 m3 of material and can work at a dredging depth of up to 26 m. The total installed engine power is more than 4,000 kW. Simson's first project will be dredging in the port of Flushing, the Netherlands. In total some 3 million m3 will be dredged. Apart from the Simson other equipment will be deployed as well. Van Oord has undertaken a major investment programme of more than EUR 1 billion. The Vox Máxima and the two backhoes are part of this programme. To download a high resolution photograph of the christening, please click here to go to our Download centre. You will find the photographs at the bottom of the page. For more informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, T 31 10 4478234, M 31 6 22497880, E info@vanoord.com    1151Van Oord has taken on the job of deepening the harbour of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The contract value amounts to some EUR 45 million. The client is a ministry set up specifically to keep Brazil’s ports accessible for larger ships. Execution of the project will commence in 2010 and take almost a year to complete.Van Oord will dredge more than 4 million m3 of material in the access channel and harbour, ranging from soft clay to mudstone. The company will deploy a mid-sized trailing suction hopper dredger, its new backhoe Goliath, and two new self-propelled split barges, each one with a hopper capacity of 2,850 m3. This new project enhances Van Oord's position in South America. Brazil, where the company has been active since 1985, is one of Van Oord's home markets. In recent years it has also undertaken projects in Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico and Venezuela. The growth of the world population and the global economy is driving the worldwide expansion of the maritime transport. In order to accommodate increasingly large merchant vessels with larger drafts, port authorities are having to expand and deepen their harbours. Van Oord offers solutions by creating new ports, constructing port facilities and maintaining harbour basins. For more informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, T 31 10 447823, E info@vanoord.com  1125Dutch contractor Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors bv (Van Oord) has been awarded the contract for the engineering, procurement and construction of the first part of the Belwind offshore wind farm project. The wind farm will be constructed on the Blight Bank, 46 km off the coast of Zeebrugge, Belgium. The developper and client is Belwind nv. A number of Dutch and Belgian investment companies are shareholders in Belwind. The contract value amounts to some EUR 280 million and is Van Oord’s largest award this year. Execution has already started. The project is scheduled for completion in November 2010.Pieter van Oord, CEO of Van Oord: ‘Since 2002 Van Oord has been involved in building offshore wind farms in North West Europe. This is Van Oord's second EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract. Earlier we completed the Princess Amalia wind farm project off the coast of IJmuiden, the Netherlands. Our knowledge and experience is concentrated in our business unit Offshore Wind Projects (OWP). The award of the Belwind project confirms our leading role as EPC contractor in North West Europe. The activities involve the construction of the foundation of 55 wind turbines, all infield, subsea cables in between the wind farms, the subsea export cable, a 165 Mega Watt offshore high voltage station and placement of 55 turbines. As of 2011 the first phase of the Belwind project will annually provide 165,000 families with environment-friendly power. Van Oord's 4,500 highly committed employees worldwide are working hard on tomorrow's solutions - solutions designed to meet the challenges of climate change, the global transport of goods and the demand for oil and gas. Van Oord's core activities are dredging, coastal construction and offshore services. Its expertise and skill set the standard in such prestigious projects as The Palm and The World in Dubai and the major extension of the port of Rotterdam, Maasvlakte 2, in the Netherlands. For more informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, T 31 (0)10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com1080Today, Van Oord’s latest trailing suction hopper dredger, Vox Máxima, was named and launched at the IHC Merwede yard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands officiated during the naming and launching accompanied by dignitaries including Dutch Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Mr. Camiel Eurlings, the Queen’s Commissioner for South-Holland, Mr. Jan Franssen, and national and international business relations of IHC Merwede and Van Oord.With a hopper capacity of 31,000 m³, Vox Máxima is the largest dredging vessel ever built in the Netherlands and is also the largest ship built in the country since 1990. Final construction will take place in the coming months. Vox Máxima will go into operation in late 2009. Van Oord's total investment programme amounts to approximately EUR 1 billion, EUR 840 million of which has already been allocated to new equipment projects. The construction of the vessel and an important part of the other investments represent a major boost for the Dutch economy. Profile Van OordVan Oord's 4,500 impassioned employees worldwide are working hard on tomorrow's solutions - solutions designed to meet the challenges of climate change, the global transport of goods and the demand for oil and gas. Van Oord's core activities are dredging, coastal construction and offshore services. Its expertise and skill set the standard in such prestigious projects as The Palm and The World in Dubai and Maasvlakte 2 in the Netherlands. Profile IHC MerwedeIHC Merwede is focused on the continuous development of its design and construction activities for the specialised shipbuilding sector, in particular the dredging and offshore industries. IHC Merwede is world market leader in the construction of specialist dredging equipment. IHC Merwede is also recognised as an outstanding builder of complex, custom-built vessels for offshore construction. The clients of IHC Merwede include major dredging companies, oil and gas exploration groups, offshore contractors and government authorities. IHC Merwede has a staff of approximately 2,800 at its locations in the Netherlands. There are also branches in China, India, the Middle East, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. For more informationVan OordMr. A.G.M. Groothuizen, manager Marketing and Public Relations, T 31 6 22497880, E info@vanoord.com, I www.vanoord.com IHC Merwede Holding B.V.Mrs. R.C.M. van Krimpen-Baudesson, Public Relations IHC Merwede, T 31 184 411555, M 31 6 22991329, E pr@ihcmerwede.com Pictures will be available in our Download centre or on www.ihcmerwede.com. You can also find a short impression of the launch on our homepage. 1024Van Oord, the global marine contractor based in Rotterdam, has agreed to act as main sponsor for the two-year climate project ‘The Green Miles’.From 15 March 2009 through December 2010, Arjen van Eijk and Florian Dirkse of the Netherlands will set sail on an adventure and produce a documentary targeted at raising awareness about the critical role oceans play in our world's climate. They will also be focusing on the impact of climate change on human beings. The two sailors will visit ocean-related climate projects around the world, headed by such leading organisations as the World Wildlife Fund, the Dutch Red Cross, and the Marine Stewardship Council. Their youthful enthusiasm will generate renewed interest in pollution at sea, the consequences of tourism, and overfishing. The National Geographic Channel will broadcast a documentary on the voyage to ensure that their story reaches a wider audience. Van Oord is supporting Arjen van Eijk and Florian Dirkse in their adventure, allowing the two sailors to concentrate on their ‘green' message. It is Van Oord's aim to work with The Green Miles project to make people more aware of the environment and the oceans. Bert Groothuizen, Van Oord's corporate marketing and PR manager: "By supporting The Green Miles climate project, we are emphasising how important it is to deal carefully with our earth and, more specifically, the maritime environment - which, after all, is Van Oord's area of operation. We also believe that Florian and Arjen are enterprising young men who have the courage to face up to challenges, who take responsibility, who respect the world we live in, and who show enormous team spirit. These are remarkable qualities that reflect the ‘One Team Van Oord' culture. That is why these two young adventurers are ideal ambassadors for Van Oord. We hope that they will have an opportunity during their round-the-world voyage to visit a number of Van Oord projects. We are active on all the continents, so we are confident that they will." The sponsorship agreement was concluded in close collaboration with Sportinnova - Sports and Leisure marketing bureau. The Green Miles also recently welcomed Europeesche Verzekeringen and Sinner Eyewear as sponsors through the efforts of Sportinnova. For more informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, Manager Marketing and Public Relations, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.comT. van der Zee, Managing Director Sportinnova, T 31 15 2129357,E info@sportinnova.nl1017Higher turnover (EUR 1,896 million), 16% increase in net profits (EUR 190 million), lower turnover and profits forecast for 2009, financially healthy company, good order portfolio.Turnover, profits and order portfolioVan Oord's turnover rose to EUR 1,896 million in 2008 (2007: 1,652 million). Net profits were EUR 190 million (2007: EUR 164 million), a 16% increase. Expressed as a percentage of turnover, profitability remained stable at 10% of turnover. Our price levels were healthy in virtually every region, with employees and equipment working to full capacity throughout most of the year. We began to see signs of trouble in Dubai/Middle East region in the second half of 2008. By year-end, activities there had been cut back significantly. At 31 December 2008, our order portfolio stood at a healthy EUR 3,640 million (2007: EUR 3,725 million). The order portfolio includes EUR 1,877 million worth of projects slowed down by our client in Dubai. OrganisationNew governance modelWe made significant changes to our organisational structure in 2008. After Jac. G. van Oord stepped down as chairman of the Executive Board in November 2008, director J. van Herwijnen also resigned his operational tasks at the start of 2009, prior to his retirement on 1 May 2009. As of that date, the Executive Board will have three executive directors. We have also appointed a Management Committee, whose task is to take key operational and commercial decisions. The Management Committee consists of the three members of the Executive Board, six Area Directors and four Staff Directors. New business unitsIn 2008, we successfully completed our work on the Princess Amalia Wind Park in the Dutch North Sea. We also concluded a cooperation contract with Dutch Econcern to build four offshore wind farms in the North Sea. In mid-2008, we concentrated our knowledge and experience in this sector into a new business unit: Offshore Wind Projects (OWP). OWP will serve as a management contractor for wind farm construction projects. In late 2008, we merged our soil improvement activities in the Netherlands (Wicks bv) with our international vibrocompaction, vertical drainage, and drilling and blasting activities into a new business unit, Wicks. Wicks operates independently in the internal and external market. Our regions and projects in 2008Netherlands (EUR 186 million turnover)Van Oord was involved in a wide range of projects in its domestic market. These are clustered around 4 themes: coastal protection, river management, port expansion and infrastructure facilities. The Dutch market is increasingly working with Design and Construct and Performance contracts. In February 2008, the Rotterdam Port Authority awarded the Maasvlakte 2 port expansion project to a consortium in which Van Oord has a 50% stake. The project is now well under way. Other major projects were the cable link in the Westerscheldt, shore suppletion near Den Helder, deepening and widening the Meuse, constructing subterranean stations for the North/South Metro Line in Amsterdam, maintenance dredging in the North Sea Canal, and port expansion work at Autrichehaven in Flushing. Our subsidiaries were active in a number of specific market segments, such as small-scale dredging (Paans) and the sand and gravel trade (Mijnster). On 1 January 2009, our office in Belgium became part of Area Netherlands. The budgets available in the Belgian market are limited. The most important project there involved dredging the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal. Europe (EUR 205 million turnover)Our priorities in this region were the markets where we have permanent offices: the United Kingdom, Germany and North East Europe. The emphasis in the United Kingdom was on coastal protection, for example Lincshore, Happisburgh to Winterton, and Felixstowe. Another special project, the construction of a tunnel, was undertaken in Limerick, Ireland. Our subsidiary Brewaba was firmly positioned in the north German market for port and waterway maintenance, for example the Elbe, Cuxhaven and Wischhafen, and the construction of a fourth container terminal in Bremen. We managed our activities in Russia from our office in St Petersburg. In Kazakhstan, we were involved in constructing the port at Kuryk, and in Turkmenistan in dredging a canal. America, Mediterranean and Africa (EUR 135 million turnover)Our activities were widely distributed across the region. We have key branches in France, Spain, Italy, Nigeria and Brazil. We were involved in deepening the port of La Rochelle in France. In the Mediterranean we were involved in maintaining the ports of Huelva and Algeciras in Spain and Sfax and Gabes in Tunisia and are involved in beach replenishment in Tarragona and Cadiz in Spain. The Adagbakuja land reclamation project in Nigeria was completed. In Latin America, we carried out maintenance projects in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. In Venezuela, we worked on the access channel to Lake Maracaibo and on the Rio Orinoco. In Brazil, we carried out maintenance dredging work in various ports. Middle East (EUR 848 million turnover)We expanded our activities in this region to include vibrocompaction, the construction of quay walls, and drilling and blasting work. We worked on ten projects in Dubai in 2008, including the construction of Palm Deira, Dubai Promenade, Dubai Maritime City Ferry Terminal and the Arabian Canal. By the end of the year, the global economic crisis had impacted the Dubai projects, all of which were slowed down by our clients. The dip in activity has led us to cut down considerably on our organisation in Dubai. We were able to transfer our internationally deployable employees to projects elsewhere. Many of the local employees were made redundant. We were able to deploy most of the vessels elsewhere in the world. Our activities in the Middle East were not restricted to Dubai. The prestigious Sohar port development project in Oman was completed in late 2008 and the port will become operational in early 2009. We were involved in constructing a new port at Ras Laffan in Qatar. We also dredged salt reefs in the Dead Sea along the Jordanian coast and we are working on a new access channel there. Asia and Australia (EUR 281 million turnover)Our main branches are in India, Singapore, China and Australia. The growth of the maritime transport sector has played a significant role in expanding the market for marine engineering projects. Our activities in 2008 were concentrated mainly in India (maintenance dredging in the ports of Mumbai and Hazira and port construction in Dighi), Thailand (construction of an LNG terminal in Map Ta Phut) and Vietnam (construction of a large jetty at Dung Quat). The difference of opinion between Singapore and its neighbours about the supply of sand has still not been resolved. As a result little progress was made on our projects in Singapore. Local competitors were very active in China and Korea, but we were nevertheless involved in maintenance work in Lian Yun Gang (China) and the construction of loading and unloading buoys in Ulsan (Korea). In Australia, we worked on port expansion projects in Dampier and Brisbane and delivered industrial sand to Cockburn Cement in the northwest. Offshore (EUR 229 million turnover)Business was brisk for Van Oord in every relevant segment of the offshore industry in 2008. The volume of flexible fallpipe work was stable. We worked on Phase 2 of the Ormen Lange Field project, which involves installing a system of pipeline supports in the Norwegian territorial waters. We built an offshore SBM system in Constanta, Romania. We boosted our position in growth markets by undertaking a pipeline protection project in the sea bed at Varenday and by dredging a trench in Baydaratskaya Bay, both in Russia. In Australia, we dredged a trench and created a landfall for the Pluto pipeline in Dampier. In Korea, we dredged a trench for a pipeline in Ulsan. Offshore Wind Projects (EUR 12 million turnover)In 2008, we concluded an agreement with Dutch energy supplier Evelop, part of Econcern, to build four wind farms along the Belgian and German coasts. Van Oord will act as the management contractor for these projects. The contract covers the foundations and the electricity supply from the wind turbines. Altogether, the wind farms will generate a maximum output of 1,500 megawatts, enough to supply 1.5 million households with clean energy. International Ground Treatment (Wicks) In late 2008, we concentrated our worldwide vibrocompaction, vertical drainage and drilling and blasting activities into a new business unit, Wicks. Wicks will operate as an independent organisation and offer services to the other business units of Van Oord and external parties. This clustering of activities, knowledge and experience will enable us to expand our worldwide market position successfully. InvestmentWe undertook a EUR 1 billion investment programme in recent years. Of this budget, EUR 840 million has already been allocated to new equipment projects. A minor part of these projects has been completed. New equipment is being built in the Netherlands, Brazil and China. Trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Máxima is under construction at the IHC Dredgers yard in Kinderdijk. The vessel's hopper capacity will be 31,200 m3.  The backacters Goliath and Simson are under construction at De Donge yard in Flushing. Both will be among the biggest vessels of their kind. The two backacters will be delivered in 2009. Flexible fallpipe vessel Stornes, which has a capacity of 27,000 tonnes, is under construction at the Raffles yard in Yantai, China. The Stornes is scheduled for completion in late 2009. The renovation of the HAM 318, which involved adding a mid-section block, was completed in 2008. The work was carried out at the Cosco yard in Dalian, China. The HAM 318 now has a 37,500 m3 hopper capacity, making it the largest operational trailing suction hopper dredger in the world. It has been deployed in Dubai since the summer of 2008. We also have six sand transport barges under construction in Dalian, with a hopper capacity of 10,000 m3 each. They will be delivered some time in 2009. Four self-propelled split barges, named after famous Dutch maritime engineers Jan Blanken, Jan Leeghwater, Pieter Caland and Cornelis Lely, are under construction at a yard in Dalian, China. The vessels, which will have a hopper capacity of 2,850 m3, will be commissioned in 2009. We had two water-injection vessels under construction in Brazil in 2008. One of these, the Draga Tocatins, has been commissioned. The Draga Rio Madeira will follow in mid-2009. In September 2008, we placed an order for a large, self-propelled cutter suction dredger. The new vessel will be one of the largest cutter suction dredgers in the world. It will be constructed at IHC Dredgers in Kinderdijk and is scheduled for completion in the autumn of 2011. Financing The available lines of credit come to a total of EUR 453 million with a remaining term to maturity ranging from three to eight years. The total sum taken out in loans is EUR 213 million. The interest rate risk on the available credit lines has been covered on the futures market, based on the anticipated drawdown periods in the years ahead. Cash at bank and in hand came to EUR 166 million at year-end. Our company is financially healthy. The credit lines are more than sufficient to cover the current investment programme. With solvency standing at 35% and our capital base at 38% of total assets, the company's financial basis is sound. Prospects The world economy is in a deep recession. At this point, it is impossible to make reliable forecasts about the year ahead. We expect lower turnover and profits in 2009. It will be a challenge to deploy the people and equipment no longer needed in Dubai on projects elsewhere in the world. In addition to our sound financial structure, we have a flexible organisation made up of individuals who are used to dealing creatively and efficiently with changing market circumstances. More than anything else, this makes us feel confident about the future. The General Meeting of Shareholders will take place on 14 May 2009. For more informationA.G.M. Groothuizen, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, T 31 10 4478234, E info@vanoord.com.997Managing Director Pieter van Oord has taken receipt of the ISO 14001 environmental certificate, which was presented to him by a representative of Lloyd’s Register EMEA. The ISO 14001 environmental certificate is confirmation of Van Oord’s sustainable and environmentally responsible approach to its projects, offices and vessels worldwide. ‘We are proud that our continuous quality improvement efforts have been recognised,’ commented Pieter van Oord.The award of this certificate sends a clear signal to the public that sustainable development is a major motivation in the Van Oord’s dredging and infrastructure projects worldwide. ‘There’s a good reason why Van Oord is a member of the consortium working on the Port of Rotterdam expansion project, Maasvlakte 2,’ says Pieter van Oord. ‘It's a project in which various environmental factors play an important role. Van Oord is also one of the initiators of Building with Nature, an innovative research programme aimed at exploring the ecological impact of marine construction projects.’ By awarding Van Oord its quality label, Lloyd's has confirmed the company’s ongoing efforts to improve its operational processes by applying standardised procedures, training its employees, and mobilising resources to manage environmental aspects. Van Oord will monitor compliance with the ISO 14001 environmental certificate by performing internal and external audits. Van Oord is building tomorrow’s infrastructure around the world. Its core activities are dredging, offshore services, coastal construction, and infrastructure (marine and land-based). The company has offices in 26 countries and employs 4,500 people worldwide. Van Oord has a large, state-of-the-art fleet that is currently being expanded on a massive scale. The challenges associated with climate change, the global increase in goods transport, and the growing demand for oil and gas are giving Van Oord the opportunity to boost its leading position in marine construction.898Van Oord Offshore signed a Subcontract for the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline Project (ADCOP) - Offshore Pipeline and Facility.The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline will originate from Habshan in Abu Dhabi and terminate in Fujairah, both located in the United Arab Emirates. The pipeline has been designed to transport 1.5 Million Barrels of Crude Oil Per Day (MMBPD) from the Company for Onshore Oil Operations Facilities (ADCO) over a distance of approximately 370 km to the Main Oil Terminal for export through the Offshore Loading Facilities. The Subcontract is awarded for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of the Offshore Works. The works include the offshore installation of 3 pipelines with a total length of approximately 13 km and 3 Single Point Mooring Systems (SPM's). All three pipelines need trenching and backfilling. The project will be executed in joint venture with Bluewater who will supply the SPM's and associated engineering. The execution of the works shall take place in 2009 and will be completed by the second quarter of 2010. The Ultimate Client is the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and the Main Contractor is the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC).900Van Oord has deepened the navigable channel of the North Sea Canal. Now large ocean-going vessels can once again pass each other on their way to and from the port of Amsterdam. A total of four million cubic metres of silt was dredged from the North Sea Canal. The project took four years to complete and ensures that ships have easier and safer access to the ports. Removing the polluted silt has also improved the canal’s rare brackish aquatic environment.The North Sea Canal is part of the main shipping route leading to northern and western Europe. It also drains excess water from much of the central and western regions of the Netherlands. The canal's brackish aquatic environment is of major ecological value. The natural banks at Zuiderpolder and Spaarnwoude are mutually reinforcing, for example, and offer transport corridors for local flora and fauna. In addition to dredging, Van Oord has improved access and safety for shipping in other ways. In 2007, it shortened the spit of land of Middensluis Island by 500 metres, so that ships can quickly and safely manoeuvre to and from the North Sea Locks. Working with the Port of Amsterdam, Van Oord also removed an embankment at Zaandam that had survived the demolition of the Hemspoor Bridge and had proved to be a nuisance for ships. The clean silt dredged from the North Sea Canal was deposited into the North Sea (1,555,000 m3). Slightly polluted silt was stored in pits excavated especially for that purpose in the bottom of the Canal (1 million m3). The sand (1.6 million m3) removed to create these pits was used to widen the A2 motorway. More heavily polluted dredging spoil - class 3 - was transported to dredging spoil disposal site De Slufter in Rotterdam (455,000 m3). All work was contracted by the Department of Public Works and Water Management. Van Oord used a wide variety of equipment, including a suction dredger, a cutter suction hopper dredger, various trailing suction hopper dredgers and crane vessels, and dry earth-moving equipment.901