DEME Bags Elbe Deepening Contract

DEME, an international group of specialized companies involved in complex marine engineering works, has won a major contract to carry out the deepening of the Elbe fairway in Germany.

The project consists of the widening and deepening of the 116 km long fairway between Cuxhaven and Hamburg to a level of -14.5 m.

According to DEME, this will allow ships to sail the River Elbe with a draught of 13.5m, compared to 12.5m at present, and not be restricted by the tide and with a 14.5m draught (tide-dependent) when sailing from and towards the port of Hamburg.

The contract has an approximate value of EUR 238 million (VAT included), said DEME.

The Waterways and Shipping Administration Cuxhaven (WSA Cuxhaven) has awarded the contract for the adaptation of the Elbe fairway to DEME Group’s subsidiaries Nordsee Nassbagger- und Tiefbau and Dredging International.

Commenting the latest news, Christopher Iwens, General Manager German Subsidiaries, said: “Securing this contract is a great team achievement as it proves that our local expertise – based on a combination of high tech, know-how and many years of dedicated entrepreneurship – is the key to success for consolidating the company’s presence in Germany.”

“We are pleased to partner with our client WSA Cuxhaven, and look forward to working closely with them to ensure the successful execution of this project. The preparatory phase of this important project is now in full swing and is taken care of by our specialist teams located in our offices in Bremen.”

For this scheme, DEME will deploy its most modern trailing suction hopper dredgers, backhoe dredgers and spreader pontoons for the dredging, transportation and relocation of around 32 million m³ of material.