Jan De Nul investing heavily in new technologies

2020 was a year of global challenges and difficulties. Because of COVID-19, everyone had to adjust quickly to new ways of doing business. Lockdown measures, travel restrictions, working from home, had a major impact on the way we work and live.

Tough times are crossroads for any business and they provide an opportunity to make hard decisions about what is working and what is not.

Despite these difficult times, Jan De Nul Group decided to keep their reputation intact as a business that invests heavily. They were even encouraged to focus more and more on sustainability.

After all, the energy transition is unstoppable. Governments and local authorities are taking all sorts of initiatives to reduce the footprint of projects and the aim of JDN is to help them with that!

Just months before the Coronavirus outbreak, JDN’s first three ultra-low emission vessels (ULEVs) entered into service, followed by the hopper dredger Sanderus and the cable installation vessel Connector in 2020.

Dredgers – SANDERUS, ORTELIUS, TRISTÃO DA CUHNA, AFONSO DE ALBUQUERQUE, and DIOGO CÃO – were the first ships to receive the new notation of Bureau Veritas (BV) that recognizes the performance of ultra-low emission vessels. The company’s unique ULEVs vessels reduce the emission of fine dust, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants to virtually zero.

Nevertheless, in 2020 Jan De Nul Group continued the investment spree, focusing heavily on new technologies. As a result, late last year, the 6,000m³ trailing suction hopper dredger Ortelius joined JDN fleet, as well as cutter suction dredger Willem van Rubroeck, the most powerful cutter suction dredger in the company’s fleet. The vessel is currently working on its first dredging project in Mauritania.

Another interesting addition to the fleet was trailing suction hopper dredger Galileo Galilei, built by the COSCO Dalian shipyard in China. This dredger has a hopper capacity of 18,000m³ and joins JDN’s medium-sized hopper dredgers. A special feature of this vessel and unique for the company’s hopper fleet is that it has two separate hoppers on board. This allows dredged material to be spread evenly over both hoppers, thus optimally controlling the load and the draught.

With a clear focus on the offshore energy projects of tomorrow, Jan De Nul Group is also strategically investing in its specialised fleet for the offshore energy market.

In the spring of 2019, JDN ordered the offshore jack-up installation vessel Voltaire from the shipyard COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry. The keel laying ceremony was held this spring and delivery of the vessel is expected in early 2022.

In the same year, the company also ordered the large crane vessel Les Alizés from the shipyard China Merchants Industry Holding Co. The steel cutting ceremony for this project took place in December 2020, with delivery of the vessel set for mid-2022.

Les Alizés and Voltaire will be working mainly for the renewable energy sector and will be fitted out with an advanced emissions processing system.

All the investments mentioned above clearly show Jan De Nul’s continued commitment to a sustainable future and the company’s positive view on the coming years.