DEME Group’s trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Lange Wapper is currently busy working on the New Lock mega project in Terneuzen, the Netherlands.
Under this project, sand is being dredged and discharged through a 1km pipeline in the reclamation area of the new lock complex.
During the works, the existing lock complex remains accessible for marine traffic.
With 427 m long, 55 m wide and 16.44 m deep, the New Lock will be the same size as the locks on the Panama Canal expansion project.
The first ship is expected to sail through the New Lock in 2022.
The New Lock will provide better access to the ports of Ghent and Terneuzen, and a faster flow of shipping between the Netherlands, Belgium and France. The New Lock will also provide an economic impulse for Zeelandic Flanders (Zeeuws-Vlaanderen), and the Flemish region.