Sweden’s largest dredging project begins

The Malmporten project will transform Luleå Port, in the north of Sweden, which is one of the country’s largest ports, serving an Iron Ore Line to Narvik. In Swedish, ‘malm’ means ore.

The dredging, being done by Boskalis and Van Oord, will remove 22 million cubic metres to gain a maximum draught of 15 metres – the maximum in the Baltic Sea. A harbour and fairways will be added to the new port area.

It is estimated that the material to be removed comprises 1 million m³ of rock, 20 million m³ of sand and moraine (rocks and sediment deposited by a glacier) and about half a million cubic metres of ‘contaminated material’.

The work, which should take until 2026 to complete (only seven months of the year are possible because of ice in the other five months) will allow Luleå to accept vessels carrying up to 160,000 – more than three times the current 50,000-tonne weight maximum.

The Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) is responsible for the works, which will at a later date include new lighthouses on and offshore.

“Ability for larger vessels is crucial for Luleå,” says SMA. “Iron ore is a low-value commodity, which demands ships with high cargo capacity to keep transport costs as well as fuel consumption and emissions low. Higher cargo capacity is also important for inbound shipments of coal to the steel work.”

The port has bought the Robert Allan tugboat Vilja, which has hybrid propulsion and 1m ice-breaking capability at 3 knots, to assist the larger vessels that will be accommodated at the port after the project.

The new deep-water port is planned to be open and operational in 2029.