Politics never far away

Of the various commercial, economic, environmental, social and political factors driving the decision whether to undertake a capital dredging project or not, the latter is usually at the centre of the debate.

In talking to the big international contractors it is clear that pure return on investment is rarely the sole consideration. In the case of an LNG terminal for instance, political will is always paramount because a nation’s energy needs are at stake. Often too, in the case of a container port, it is more about politics in the shape of wanting to keep one step ahead of the port in a neighbouring country or province. “It is very difficult to prove that an investment in deepening the port is economically viable. For sure there are many ports that don’t give a damn about economics, ” admits one dredging company executive. “At the end of the day they just have to do it if they are to play their part in world trade and maritime logistics. It’s just common sense.”

Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte 2 is a case in point. “If they didn’t go ahead, then the lines would switch to other ports and Rotterdam would lose business, ” he says. “For a carrier there is always an alternative port.”

Regional and national economies together with industrial output trade, and employment prospects are all at stake and again, it becomes a political decision.

And whether dredging projects are undertaken on the speculative assumption that by deepening the port and its approaches, business in the form of bigger ships will inevitably arrive, or whether a more circumspect approach is taken, there are bound to be arguments over the environmental and social impact of such projects. Here we’re talking powerful conservationist lobby groups; voters in the form of residents pressure groups: again, it all comes back to politics.

Hopefully the dredging contractor enters the scene after these awkward issues have been resolved. Not always though: he may still become caught up unwittingly in territorial wrangling over whose sand he’s dredging or financial crises during the running of the project, as recent cases have shown.

As to the economics, whilst the cost of dredging may have increased due to more stringent environmental requirements, in parallel it has decreased as equipment has got bigger and more efficient. This is particularly the case with land reclamation projects where bigger dredgers have driven costs down.

The larger jumbo trailers and very large trailing suction hopper dredgers have made a significant difference but cost still depends on type and condition of the subsoil, dumping criteria, sailing distances, whether the contractor is permitted to operate 24/7 and whether delays occur due to port traffic movements.