The port of Antwerp, with its direct access to the sea, is only a three-hour drive from Luxembourg. On Tuesday, a delegation from the Ministry of the Economy visited the Jan de Nul Group, a world leader in its industry. 63 of the group’s 82 ships sail under the Luxembourgish maritime flag.
The ship visited by the Minister is a 111-metre-long dredger. The “Sanderus” is a special ship of the latest generation, which is used in Antwerp to dredge the Scheldt estuary.
Jesper Briers, second officer on board the Sanderus, explains that they are currently in the middle of dredging, i.e. sucking a mixture of sand and seawater from the bottom of the Scheldt into the ship.
9,000 tonnes of sand can be loaded in this way, which is then discharged at a specific point through a large hatch. Sand can also be dumped at a very specific location, for example to reinforce a dike. The Jan de Nul Group has been based in Capellen since 1995.
The group’s director, David Lutty, states that they also have ships that are used to build offshore wind farms. These are special ships with large cranes to install the new wind turbines at sea.
The Jan de Nul Group does not only do construction work but is also actively involved in the development of the latest generation of workboats. Vessels that are clearly intended to be less harmful to the environment, i.e. vessels with very low emissions. This is essential at a time when the sector is under increasing pressure regarding environmental impact.
According to Lutty, the next step after low emissions is to achieve zero emissions. The group is currently thinking about whether it can work with alcohol or bioethanol. Hydrogen, on the other hand, is “very complicated” because of the navigation. Lutty explains that they need a lot of refuelling stations, and this is “linked to certain dangers”.
The use of new technologies in the filtering system of the “Sanderus” has already led to a 60% reduction in emissions. Heavy fuel has also been replaced with diesel for lorries with Ad-Blue.
The search for truly sustainable solutions is in full swing. A change that the Luxembourgish government wants to support, Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot said during his visit to Antwerp.
“In the coming months, we want to take initiatives to support research and development. And why not also improve the fiscal framework to encourage investments in sustainable ships like the Sanderus”, Fayot added.
The full report in Luxembourgish:
