Events

EuDA 20th Anniversary Celebration, at Bibliothèque Solvay’The European Dredging Industry: A Maritime Success Story’

For the past 20 years, European Dredgers have built up momentum and increased their strength and resilience as individual companies but also as a united and reputable sector organisation.

The Challenges of the Sea
Thanks to maritime transport, the main vector for globalisation, the world has become an ever closely connected place. As a consequence, more and more economical and social activities take place and further develop along the coasts.
The European Dredgers were very quickly faced with challenges such as increasing demand for space and resources (including offshore energy and marine aggregates) in the context of the increasing need to protect our environment. Thanks to a long term cooperation with universities and hydraulic labs and also to continuous investment in advanced and high tech equipment, the European Dredgers have developed innovative solutions and new approaches, integrating nature (both physical and ecological aspects) already at the design phase.

From “Mud Pushers” to World Leaders
After 20 years, the European Dredgers are no longer known as the “mud pushers” but as the well respected world leaders in a diversified industry segment of high strategic and economic importance. Their knowledge and capacity have allowed the European Dredgers to tackle innovatively many of the world’s new challenges, including the modernisation of ports and their adaptation to the new reality of seaborne trade, the protection and adaptation of coasts to climate change, the procurement of diverse services to the offshore infrastructures.
In its own way, the dredging industry is also a vector of globalisation.

The Influence of Europe
With the increasing impact of European legislation and policies on their business, European Dredgers decided to join forces and established in December 1993 the European Dredging Association (EuDA). Since then, EuDA has grown into a reliable and reputable European maritime association, shaping European legislation and policies, focusing on transport, environmental, social or trade issues, as well as international, essentially at IMO and ILO.
In order to celebrate in style this important milestone in the life of an association, EuDA has the honour of having a keynote address by Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Transport & Mobility, Mr Siim Kallas. He will be followed by eminent speakers presenting the innovative projects by European dredgers around the world.

For the Conference detailed programme: click here.

For the Conference Participants’ List: click here.

For the speakers’ presentations see below:

Opening Address

• Mr Marc Stordiau
  EuDA Chairman

Keynote Address: click here

• Vice-President Siim Kallas
  Commissioner for Transport and Mobility

Moderation:

• Mr John Richardson
  FIPRA, moderating the conference.

European Dredgers, innovating worldwide:

Europe

• Mr René van der Plas
  Port of Rotterdam, Managing Director of Maasvlakte 2 Project
  presenting “Maasvlakte (1) vs Maasvlakte 2, from rocks to sand“.

Americas

• Mr Rogelio Gordon
  Panama Canal Authority, Executive, Manager Dredging Division, Dept. Operations
  presenting “Panama Canal Expansion“.

Oceania

• Gerard van Raalte
  Royal Boskalis Westminster, Hydronamic, Senior Expert
  presenting “Port of Melbourne’s expansion“.

Asia

• Stijn Kenis
  DEME, Project Manager of SARB Energy Islands in Abu Dhabi
  presenting “Artificial islands as alternatives to offshore rigs in Abu Dhabi“.
• Peter De Pooter
  Jan De Nul, Project Director for the Manifa Field Causeway and Islands in Saudi Arabia
  presenting “Artificial islands as alternatives to offshore rigs in Saudi Arabia“.