Good year from Van Oord ACZ

The company says its net profit for 2001 rose by 17 per cent – to ?18.7m – compared with the previous year. In a recent statement, Van Oord ACZ said that the sources for this increase in profit were an increase in the number of profitable projects executed and the high degree of utilisation of the company’s vessels.

Outside Europe, Van Oord participated in large scale reclamation projects in the Hong Kong and Singapore area, and in Dubai, the company was awarded the Palm Island I project. Work on this project is expected to continue until the end of 2003.

Van Oord ACZ says that demand for rock dumping declined slightly in comparison to previous years, and no really big contracts were awarded in the Far East due to postponement of certain projects. However, the company’s position in the rock dumping market was reinforced by investment in the new fall pipe vessel Rocknes, the biggest of its kind, with its loading capacity of approximately 26,000t.

In dredging, the Group says it will maintain market share by investing in two new trailing suction hopper dredgers with a capacity of 4,750m 3and 15,000m 3, respectively. An order for a smaller trailing suction hopper dredger has also been placed recently.

Van Oord ACZ has also revealed that it has entered into a joint venture with heavy lift specialists Mammoet in the field of offshore windfarm installation.

The new venture will operate under the name Mammoet Van Oord, and to this end, a jack-up installation barge has been developed and built by the companies.

The JV has already won its first order, transporting and installing a total of 80,165 tonne, 33m high wind turbine foundations for the world’s largest offshore windfarm, the Horns Rev windfarm, which will be built off the Danish coast and will have a total capacity of 150MW.