On the front lines of dike reinforcement

In strengthening the Markermeer dikes, a huge amount of sand is sprayed from the water. With spray pontoon 'the Discovery', K&W Trans was literally in the front line of the dike reinforcement. In the area around Hoorn no less than 80,000 m³ sand raised by the maritime service provider. A look back with director Jacco Wakker on the project and about the emission-free (!) ship currently under construction.

The multi-purpose work vessel the Discovery bobbed in the area around Hoorn for sixty weeks. "During that period we dredged up a gigantic amount of sand into a 200-meter-wide strip over a length of about 15 kilometers," Wakker explained. "The sand/water mixture was supplied by a fixed pipeline from bucket suction dredger TEXEL across the bottom of the IJsselmeer. The last 600 meters consisted of a floating pipeline linked to our spray pontoon, the Discovery. Our people were on board day and night all week and active from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
evening for optimal continuity."

Skilled personnel

Wakker is only too proud of his skilled staff. "We have been around for 25 years now and are a company of the old school in terms of personnel," he laughs. "We work exclusively with a permanent team of our own staff. All of them motivated employees with a lot of expertise and a great passion for working on the water. It's a lifestyle. We understand each other. That makes that we all strive for the same goal: optimal quality of work delivered, fully in accordance with the agreement. In that sense, the equipment is secondary." Although, K&W Trans has been busy innovating over the past five years. For example, the Water Lady is one of the few push and tow vessels in the Netherlands with Stage V engines. A unique combination ensures that the vessel is deployable on projects with strict CO₂- and nitrogen requirements. The Dancing Water has also recently undergone a thorough metamorphosis and is equipped with Stage V engines. K&W Trans is therefore assisting with its sustainable fleet in a large number of leading projects, such as the reconstruction of the Afsluitdijk and the construction of the wind farm on the IJsselmeer.

But K&W Trans is going one step further. "In order to be one step ahead of future environmental requirements, we are currently building the ship Destiny II, a hybrid ship that can sail completely emission-free. That is truly unique in the world," says Wakker. "The ship can also operate in very shallow water. To bridge the gap between land and water, we can even optionally attach tracks to the ship using the ship's own crane." With the arrival of the Destiny II to be launched in May 2022, and the continued innovation of the existing fleet, K&W Trans is definitely ready for the future.