Europort Maritime is a new integration of the former Europort and Rotterdam Maritime exhibitions and takes place for the first time in this format on 1-5 November.

The theme of CEDA Dredging Days 2005 is 'Dredging: The Extremes', with the conference examining how the industry responds to the extreme requirements, whether physical or regulatory, and how it produces extraordinary results in creating new land, valuable habitats, and dredged ports and fairways to accommodate the ever larger ships involved in global trade. In seven technical sessions over 3 and 4 November, 25 high quality peer reviewed papers will be presented, augmented by poster presentations which can be viewed during the whole conference.

The keynote speech will be delivered on the morning of 3 November by Mr Kim Fejfer, chief executive of APM Terminals, who will discuss the shipping industry's expectations and requirements for navigational infrastructure in the future. This will be followed immediately by a first session chaired by Neville Burt of the UK's HR Wallingford on Dredging in Complex Regulatory Environments.

Increasingly an issue in Europe, with major proposals blocked or delayed recently in both Britain and the Netherlands, this session will feature a case study of Harwich Haven UK titled 'Port Development in the Face of Regulatory Adversity'.

Subsequent sessions will discuss Jetting, a variety of Case Studies, Environment, Advances in Science and Technology Parts 1 and 2, and Technical Progress.

The end of the first day's proceedings is followed by the CEDA AGM and then the CEDA Reception at 18:00.

The CEDA Dredging Days conference is preceded this year by a Technical Visit to the Port of Rotterdam's 'Slufter' confined disposal facility on the afternoon of 2 November. With a volume of 1 million m 3, the Slufter is probably the largest such facility in the world. In addition to storing contaminated dredged material, there are also facilities for sand extraction and the ripening of dredged material for beneficial use. Participants will receive detailed information about the facility while touring around the dike. After the visit, participants will board a ship on which a guided tour will be made through the Port of Rotterdam, complete with light refreshments.

To complement the conference, a small dredging exhibition will be located for the first time in the foyer of the technical session room. Delegates will be able to take their refreshments in this exhibition during the breaks between sessions.

One of the highlights of CEDA Dredging Days follows the close of the final technical session when the winner of the International Association of Dredging Companies Award is presented for the best paper of the conference by an author under 35 years of age.

CEDA Dredging Days 2005 promises to be one of the best ever. To register contact the Conference Secretariat at Tel:

+31 (0)10 414 9779, Email:

info@mpi-rotterdam. nl. For enquiries about the technical programme contact the CEDA Secretariat at +31 (0)15 268 2575, Email: ceda@dredging. org