WD Fairway had a world leading capacity of 24,500m3 when delivered by the now defunct Verolme Shipyard Huesden in the Netherlands in 1997. Its arrival heralded a new confidence in the dredging industry following completion of the Chek Lap Kok airport project in Hong Kong, which gave project planners everywhere a new vision of what was possible due to the land reclamation capabilities of large trailing suction hopper dredgers. Economies of scale and productivity became the focus of dredger development and WD Fairway was soon overtaken in the size stakes by Jan De Nul’s significantly bigger dredger ‘Vasco da Gama’. Not to be outdone by its Belgian competitor, Boskalis had WD Fairway extended in Singapore in 2003, restoring its position at the top of the tree with a capacity of 35,508m3.

That the vessel has sadly been declared a total constructive loss means Boskalis will receive insurance payments amounting to a total of more than €165m with which to build its successor. Like all the major dredging contractors, Boskalis is enjoying a hefty order book based largely on large scale land reclamation projects which are now part of WD Fairway’s legacy. Boskalis’ order book has held steady at some €2.5bn thus far in 2007 and the company expects to see a full year increase in turnover despite the loss of the largest dredger in its 300 vessel fleet.

Net profit is also expected to rise (leaving aside the financial settlement of the damage), as will fleet utilisation, margins and investment. Boskalis will, in fact, invest some €450m in new equipment, including the WD Fairway replacement and two other trailing suction hopper dredgers of 12,000m3 capacity each. It is a measure of how the dredging industry has progressed in recent years that the announcement of two new vessels of 12,000m3 capacity seems almost incidental. In the early 1990s either one would have been the largest dredger in the world.