Published on: January 7, 2026, 11:30 AM
Commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat, Van Oord has successfully completed coastal maintenance at Zeelands Noord-Beveland. For the maintenance, 1 million m3 of sand was deposited on and just in front of the beach using the LNG trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Apolonia.
A special aspect of this project is the use of 100% Bio-LNG fuel, with which Van Oord and Rijkswaterstaat commit to an execution method that causes as little emissions as possible.
Coastal Care at the Banjaard Beach
Van Oord has deposited sand on and just in front of the Banjaard Beach, the tip of the island Noord-Beveland. This assignment is part of the Coastal Care program. By depositing sand on and in front of the beach, the coast remains in place and the Netherlands stays protected against the sea.
Next year, Van Oord will also carry out beach nourishments at Goeree-Westkop and Heemskerk.
Sustainable Dredging with Bio-LNG
An important aspect of this project was the use of 100% Bio-LNG, in line with the sustainability ambitions of both Rijkswaterstaat and Van Oord. The use of Bio-LNG was made possible by Van Oords Green Fuel Fund, launched at the end of 2024 to accelerate the use of sustainable fuels.
This fund helps reduce the extra costs of renewable fuels for customers such as Rijkswaterstaat and makes large-scale application more feasible.
Harry Zondag, strategic advisor dredging market Rijkswaterstaat: Rijkswaterstaat sets minimum emission requirements and encourages in its procurement with award advantages to do even more. Nice that Van Oord goes along with this and shapes its own ideas.
Transition to Sustainable Coastal Care
The sustainable execution of the sand nourishment at Noord-Beveland aligns with the Transition Path Coastal Care and Fairway Maintenance , in which Rijkswaterstaat and market parties work together to further green coastal maintenance.
We aim to carry out Coastal Care fully climate-neutral and circular. Within this framework, we stimulate innovation by explicitly weighing sustainability in tenders, without predefining which technology or energy carrier must be applied.
The choice to use 100% bio-LNG was naturally welcomed by us as a good solution. This way, experience is gained with sustainable solutions that contribute to reducing emissions and are also applicable in future coastal care projects.
Tom van Eijk, Project Manager at Van Oord: I am proud that we have carried out this coastal maintenance entirely on 100% Bio-LNG. This shows that greening in the maritime sector is not a future plan for us, but reality. Together with Rijkswaterstaat, we take an important step towards emission-free execution of coastal maintenance.