Rijnhaven: the sand distributor

Permanent sand supply regardless of weather and tides

To pump up the North Sea sand for the filling of the Rijnhaven, environmental nuisance must be kept to a minimum. This is why the main contractor is counting on the know-how of maritime specialist Kapitein Maritiem. Through a supply pipeline, the company unloads 3,500 m3 of sand in half an hour from the hopper that delivers the sand. And to meet the site's municipal requirements, Kapitein Maritiem replaced the internal combustion engines on its workboat Hercules.

Captain Maritime has been working in Rotterdam's Rijnhaven for a year and a half. 'Rainbowing' is prohibited before the demolition work is carried out. "Currently, therefore, there is a floating supply line. At the start of the works, that was a spray pontoon," explains project manager Lub Kapitein. "We manage the anchoring and ensure that the pipeline remains in the correct position to ensure the continuity of the work. There is a floating pipeline in the water equipped with a coupling ball to which the hopper can always connect to complete the attenuation of the port. In addition, we also provide supplies or crew changes for the hopper."

Meeting the latest environmental standards

The supply line can be lifted with a 200 ton/meter hydraulic deck crane mounted on the 24-meter-long work vessel Hercules. "To meet the city of Rotterdam's latest environmental standards, we upgraded the Hercules, which we are now deploying for the municipality, with Stage V/Tier III engines," Lub continued. "Everything has been renewed, even the generators."

The Hercules is the vessel of choice for work in the shallow waters around the Rijnhaven. Lub: "With every assignment we look carefully at the criteria and for the required infrastructure works at the Rijnhaven we needed a shallow working vessel with still enough possibilities. Working vessels of this size are easily 2.5 meters deep, but the Hercules sticks out around 1.5 meters. In terms of working vessels on shallow water, we still have a whole range of vessels of different sizes for sea and inland navigation."