before the epa chatham rock phosphate marine … · 2019. 4. 6. · boskalis deployed equipment...

BEFORE THE EPA CHATHAM ROCK PHOSPHATE MARINE CONSENT APPLICATION IN THE MATTER of the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf

(Environmental Effects) Act 2012 AND IN THE MATTER of a decision-making committee appointed to consider a

marine consent application made by Chatham Rock Phosphate Limited to undertake rock phosphate extraction on the Chatham Rise

__________________________________________________________

STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE OF SANDER STEENBRINK FOR

CHATHAM ROCK PHOSPHATE LIMITED

Dated: 28 August 2014

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Barristers & Solicitors

J G A Winchester / H P Harwood Telephone: +64-4-499 4599

Facsimile: +64-4-472 6986

Email: [email protected]

DX SX11174 P O Box 2402 Wellington

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CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 3

Qualifications and experience ........................................................................... 3

Code of conduct .................................................................................................. 5

Scope of Evidence............................................................................................... 5

BOSKALIS' BACKGROUND .................................................................................... 6

BOSKALIS' ENVIRONMENTAL TRACK RECORD ................................................. 8

Khalifa Port, Abu Dhabi, UAE – Creating an offshore port (2007 –

2010) ............................................................................................................ 9

Port of Melbourne – Channel Deepening Project (2005 – 2009) ..................... 11

Safer Fairways to Port of Gothenburg (2003 – 2004) ...................................... 12

Nanhai, Daya Bay, China (2004) ......................................................................... 13

Gabon Fertilizer Plant, Port Gentil, Gabon (2013) ........................................... 15

Mejillones Port and Waterway Engineering, November 2002 to April

2003 ............................................................................................................. 17

BOSKALIS’ OPERATIONAL TRACK RECORD ...................................................... 18

White Rose and Terra Nova Project, 2001-2003 ............................................... 19

Laggan Project, 2012 - ongoing ......................................................................... 22

Fox River Clean-up, Green Bay (WI), USA, 2008-ongoing .............................. 23

BOSKALIS’ RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TRACK RECORD ...................... 24

Building with Nature ........................................................................................... 24

Seabed Landscaping .......................................................................................... 25

TASS ..................................................................................................................... 26

BOSKALIS' INVOLVEMENT IN CHATHAM ROCK PHOSPHATE

LIMITED'S PROJECT ...................................................................................... 27

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Boskalis is a leading global maritime services company with expertise in

dredging, complex infrastructural work and project execution for the

off-shore energy sector. Boskalis has been listed on the Amsterdam

exchange since 1971 and now operates in 75 countries with over 11,000

employees worldwide. Boskalis has extensive experience working for oil

companies, shipping companies, governments, international project

developers and mining companies.

2. Boskalis is focussed on providing innovative and sustainable solutions for

infrastructural challenges in the maritime, coastal and delta areas. We

have played a leading role in several environmentally-driven research

programmes and continue to make significant investments in the

development of environmentally-friendly techniques and equipment.

Boskalis maintains several internationally recognised quality standards

and actively consults experts on technical matters to ensure environmental

concerns are identified and addressed. We have a strong environmental

track record demonstrated by the successful completion of many large

scale projects with strict environmental requirements.

3. Throughout the last 15 years, Boskalis has also completed a variety of

projects using similar technology to that proposed for the Chatham Rock

Phosphate Limited's (CRP) project. Our experience in those projects has

directly fed into the design for the Chatham Rise proposal.

4. Boskalis has made a significant investment in this project and plans to

establish a local office in New Zealand for employees to manage the

operation. We are committed to working with CRP on this project and will

continue to contribute to the design, operational planning and financial

modelling of the mining vessel and operations.

INTRODUCTION

Qualifications and experience 5. My full name is Alexander Cornelis Steenbrink.

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6. I have a MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering from Delft University of

Technology. I graduated in the department of Engineering Mechanics.

7. I have a PhD degree from Delft University of Technology in

Micromechanics of Materials. The subject of my dissertation was “On

deformation and fracture of amorphous polymer-rubber blends;

micromechanisms and micromechanics”.

8. I am a member of the Innovation Council of “Nederland Maritiem Land” (a

Dutch organisation for Maritime Leader Firms); chairman of the advisory

board to the Director of Education for Delft University of Technology,

faculty of Mechanical Engineering; a member of the International Marine

Minerals Society (IMMS) and of the Environmental Committee of the

Underwater Mining Institute (UMI); and a member of the Dutch Royal

Society of Engineers (KIVI).

9. I am manager of the Dredging Development Department and Survey

Department at Boskalis, and have held that position since 1 October 2007.

Prior to that, I worked for the Netherlands Organisation for Applied

Scientific Research (TNO) as a software engineer and team leader at the

Automotive Crash Safety Centre, and as a manager at the Centre for

Mechanical and Maritime Structures.

10. My principal role at Boskalis is to ensure the competitive strength of

Boskalis by identifying and developing opportunities for innovation and

technology development. I am responsible for and manage 5 teams:

(a) Research & Development;

(b) Maritime Dynamics;

(c) Dredging Software Development;

(d) Dredging Simulator Training; and

(e) Survey, including the profit and loss of the exploitation of survey

equipment.

11. I coordinate the activities of these teams with the interests of the

commercial and operational units. I report to the Boskalis Board of

Directors.

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12. I am involved in innovative studies and concept development of

equipment, working methods and calculation tools. I am responsible for

managing the patents within Boskalis. I am also involved in collecting

government subsidies for research and joint industry projects. I was

directly involved in the proposal for Building with Nature, a five year

innovation program with a total value of €27 million, initiated by Boskalis.

Code of Conduct 13. I confirm that I have read the Code of Conduct for expert witnesses

contained in the Environment Court of New Zealand Practice Note 2011

and that I have complied with it when preparing my evidence. Other than

when I state that I am relying on the advice of another person, this

evidence is entirely within my area of expertise. I have not omitted to

consider material facts known to me that might alter or detract from the

opinions that I express.

Role in marine consent application

14. After first meeting with Chatham Rock Phosphate at the conference of the

Underwater Mining Institute in Gelendzhik, Russia, in 2010, I proposed a

concept feasibility study to them. I was in charge of the multi-disciplinary

project team within Boskalis that carried out this feasibility study and

presented the results to CRP’s expert panel.

15. When Boskalis was selected by CRP as preferred contractor, another

project manager was appointed for further development of the project,

equipment concept and working method. I have, however, continued to be

involved in the background and supported the project in providing

resources and reporting to Boskalis' senior management.

Scope of Evidence

16. In this brief of evidence, I will discuss:

(a) Boskalis' background;

(b) Boskalis' environmental track record;

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(c) Boskalis’ operational track record;

(d) Boskalis’ research and development track record; and

(e) Boskalis' investment in Chatham Rock Phosphate Limited's

project.

BOSKALIS' BACKGROUND

17. Boskalis is a leading global dredging and marine expert.

18. Boskalis and its related companies provide innovative, sustainable and all-

round solutions for infrastructural challenges in the maritime, coastal and

delta areas of the world. Under brands such as Boskalis, Dockwise, SMIT

and Smit Lamnalco we offer a wide range of maritime services comprising:

the construction and maintenance of ports and waterways, land

reclamation, coastal defence and riverbank protection;

the execution of projects and marine services for the offshore

energy sector including subsea, heavy marine transport, lift and

installation services;

towage and terminal services; and

marine salvage services and projects.

19. As a partner we are able to realise complex infrastructural works for our

clients within the chain of design, project management and execution, on

time and within budget, even at vulnerable or remote locations around the

world. We strive for sustainable design and realisation of our solutions.

20. Boskalis operates worldwide but concentrates on seven geographic

regions which have the highest growth expectations for the energy and

ports markets. This spread gives us both a solid foundation and the

flexibility to be able to secure a wide range of projects, as well as providing

good prospects for balanced and sustained growth. Our main clients are

oil, gas and power companies, port operators, governments, shipping

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companies, international project developers, insurance companies and

mining companies.

Figure 1: Identified dredging and offshore projects, regional hotspots (From: Annual

Report 2013)

Figure 2: Overview of Boskalis Activities

21. Boskalis has 11,000 employees, including our share in associated

companies. The safety of our own employees and those of our

subcontractors is paramount. Boskalis operates a progressive global

safety program which is held in high regard in the industry and by our

clients.

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22. We operate on behalf of our clients in over 75 countries across six

continents. Our versatile fleet consists of 1,000 vessels and equipment.

Our head office is based in the Dutch city of Papendrecht. Royal Boskalis

Westminster N.V. shares have been listed on Euronext Amsterdam since

1971 and are included in the AEX index.

BOSKALIS' ENVIRONMENTAL TRACK RECORD

23. Boskalis’ focus is on finding solutions that integrate the identification and

implementation of effective working methods with environmental

considerations. A significant investment is made in continuous research

and the development of environmentally-friendly techniques and

equipment. Environmental concern is also an integral part of Boskalis’

quality policy, thus Boskalis maintains a number of internationally-

recognized quality standards, such as International Standards

Organization (ISO) and International Safety Management (ISM)

certificates. Additionally, Boskalis is an active participant globally in

discussions with experts and decision-makers on technical aspects and

international environmental dredging and mining regulations, as well as

the options for beneficial reuse of dredged and mined material.

24. In recent years, Boskalis has successfully completed several large

projects with strict environmental requirements. In the following

paragraphs I describe a selection of projects which in my view

demonstrate Boskalis' approach and ability to complete significant projects

in an environmentally responsible manner.

25. I wish to emphasise that each project is different. Some projects allow for

different techniques, given the nature of the project and where it is located.

I do not regard them as direct parallels to CRP's project, which is a mining

project. Nevertheless, aspects of the projects I describe provide evidence

of our experience and capability to undertake complex marine activities, to

be innovative, and to be as environmentally sensitive as possible bearing

in mind the nature and objectives of the projects. These are working

principles that Boskalis can bring to the CRP project.

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Khalifa Port, Abu Dhabi, UAE – Creating an offshore port (2007 – 2010)

26. Within this project, a large green-field offshore port was developed near

the most extensive coral reef in the Arabian Gulf. The assignment

included dredging an entrance channel and a harbour basin, the

reclamation of a harbour island and land for wharfs, the construction of

breakwaters and a causeway to the island, as well as a bridge. In

addition, a jetty and quay walls were built for container handling and a new

aluminium smelter. A total of 44 million cubic metres of material was

dredged. It was completed close to the largest coral reef in the Arabian

Gulf.

27. A significant aspect of this project was Boskalis’ design and operation of a

turbidity monitoring campaign and adaptive management.

28. Boskalis deployed equipment that included a number of large cutter

suction dredgers and backhoes, as well as a medium-sized hopper

dredger. The contract was worth approximately €670 million. The project

was executed over the course of four and a half years, beginning October

2007.

29. The environmental standards during the project were extremely stringent,

due to the proximity of the coral reef mentioned above. The reef is

194km² is home to 17 species of coral, sponges, sea grass beds and

hundreds of fish species. The project area is also close to seawater

intakes for the ADEA desalination plant, which is the main producer of

drinking water for Abu Dhabi.

30. The protection of both these areas from excessive total suspended

sediments was vitally important in the execution of the dredging and

reclamation works. Therefore, numerous monitoring activities and

mitigating measures were carried out and implemented during the works,

including:

the installation of 15 monitoring stations around the project area,

transmitting 24-hour, real-time measurements of turbidity, waves,

currents, water levels, and weather conditions;

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operating a dedicated monitoring vessel 24 hours a day to make

continuous in-situ measurements;

taking daily water samples as an additional measurement of

suspended sediment concentrations and turbidity;

regular dive inspections of the coral reef;

continuous bathymetric surveying to monitor changes in the level

of the sea bed; and

numerical modelling by Deltares (formerly Delft Hydraulics) to

predict the turbidity and total suspended sediment concentrations

around the working areas as a preliminary assessment as well as

in forecast mode. This information was used to schedule and

execute the works in a way that minimised the potential for

sediment- and turbidity-related environmental impacts.

31. Due to the higher than expected silt content in the material for the

reclamation, the originally designed working method, with a sophisticated

spreader pontoon, did not give the desired results. The working method

was revised, removing silt with water injection vessels WID Roomklopper

and WID BKM 100, as well as the shallow draft TSHD Alpha B, with the

result that the required quality and performance criteria of the fill were

achieved.

32. In 2010, the client, Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), received The

Environment Protection Award for the design and construction of Khalifa

Port for the protection of the coral reef. Additionally, Boskalis Westminster

Middle East Ltd. received a safety recognition award from ADPC for 365

days without a lost time injury / illness (LTI) and the Consortium reached

12,000,000 work hours without LTI on May 2, 2010.

33. The level of monitoring was possible because the project was conducted

in shallow waters and was close to land. A similar monitoring programme

would be impossible on the Chatham Rise.

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Port of Melbourne – Channel Deepening Project (2005 – 2009)

34. Boskalis deepened the navigation channel to the Port of Melbourne, a

project that was vital to Australia’s world trade links. For the execution of

the dredging and disposal operations for this project, the Environment

Effects Study stipulated an extensive environmental monitoring program to

verify compliance with set standards and to provide feedback on the

appropriateness of these standards.

35. Port of Melbourne Corporation on one hand assigned these tasks to

specialist consultants, and on the other hand cooperated intensively with

their Alliance partner, Boskalis, in the execution of the works and the

monitoring program. Boskalis provided the Alliance project team with a

number of specialists, with both thorough understanding of the needs for

environmental protection and monitoring schemes, and with a broad

experience on how to perform such programs. This combination of

practical experience with scientific understanding proved to be essential in

setting up, running and managing the monitoring program during the 2005

(trial) dredging works.

36. The monitoring program was undertaken using ten vessels and included:

turbidity monitoring at fixed bottom locations and with telemetry

buoys;

full depth plume monitoring from moving vessels;

water quality sampling;

airborne sound, underwater sound, underwater visibility and light

measurements;

underwater flora, fauna and substratum surveys; and

weather and sea state characteristics.

37. Data was stored in a specially-designed and dedicated database for easy

retrieval and quick reporting to support the EMP compliance checks. In

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conjunction with the turbidity monitoring program, modelling was

undertaken for forecasting reasons. The close and direct cooperation

between the client and Boskalis proved to be highly efficient in achieving

the environmental goals while at the same time attaining all technical and

economic performance requirements.

38. Experiences gained in the trial dredging works and over two years of

additional investigation into the natural assets of the bay resulted in an

environmental dredging plan which was the most rigorous in the world to-

date. Together with extensive environmental monitoring, the deepening

was achieved without any significant adverse impact on the marine and

coastal environment.

39. In December 2007, the Australian Federal Minister for the Environment

granted final approval for this project. The work took about two years to

complete and the contract value was approximately €300 million. The

project involved dredging sand, clay, contaminated silt and rock. The work

was executed using two hoppers (the Queen of the Netherlands and the

Cornelis Zanen) backhoes and cranes. After completion of the project, the

Port of Melbourne became accessible for container vessels with a draft of

up to 14m.

Safer Fairways to Port of Gothenburg (2003 – 2004)

40. This example illustrates Boskalis’ experience and capability in the early

development of modern-day, stringent environmental monitoring

campaigns. The operational plan and environmental monitoring campaign

also helped to redefine state-of-the-art at the time; the operational plan

had an ecological-based marine operations timetable and the

environmental monitoring campaign had to measure a plethora of

physical, ecological and water quality parameters including turbidity,

sedimentation, light availability and sound.

41. The “Safer Fairways to Port Gothenburg” project in Sweden focused on

the deepening of the entrance channels to the port of Gothenburg. 12

million m3 of clay was dredged using two trailer suction hopper dredges

(TSHDs), the Seaway (hopper capacity 13,255 m3) and the Coastway

(hopper capacity 4,906 m3).

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42. The dredged material consisted of clay and rock. Since the dredging

areas were surrounded by environmentally sensitive habitats, such as

eelgrass, mussels and soft-bottom fauna, an extensive monitoring

program was executed. Parameters monitored consisted amongst others

of suspended solid concentrations, current velocities and directions,

vibrations and noise.

43. The Environmental Monitoring Plan and Dredging Plan were designed to

comply with a stringent environmental specification, to be followed

throughout the extensive blasting and dredging works. These conditions

required strict control of total suspended solids (TSS) in the water. In

addition, there were restrictions on the range of dredging (and dredging

hours), especially during the summer season. The objective was to

protect sensitive habitats, in particular eelgrass, mussels and soft-bottom

fauna. Limits on TSS were set at 1000m distance from the works requiring

24 hours a day, 7 days a week monitoring. Limits on water transparency,

noise and vibrations were also to be met.

44. Environmental monitoring results were evaluated against targets and

used, if necessary, to adjust programming of dredging and blasting works

to fit within the environmental limits. Due to this, the dredging activities

were able to be performed with the lowest impact to the environment. The

client had 24 hour access to all monitoring data, which was stored in a

multi-purpose database. This environmental database provided the client

with a daily update of the most relevant monitoring parameters and

dredging information, making it possible for the client to be able to quickly

and accurately address questions or concerns, but also to anticipate many

of the questions they were asked.

45. After the project was finished, the client (Port of Gothenborg Authority)

awarded Boskalis with a Certificate of Excellence for the environmental

monitoring campaign.

Nanhai, Daya Bay, China (2004)

46. This example again illustrates Boskalis’ experience and capability in the

early development of design and execution of an environmental monitoring

campaign. The unique aspect of this project was the nature of one of the

conditions imposed upon Boskalis while operating. This project also

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illustrates the proactive and effectiveness of utilizing adaptive

management strategies in combination with clear environmental limits and

required actions if those limits are exceeded.

47. Boskalis was awarded the dredging scope of works for navigation

channels and a turning basin linked to a new petrochemical plant in Daya

Bay, which is located in the Guandong Province in the southwest of the

People’s Republic of China. The main environmental concerns during this

project related to the coral reefs present around the bay and close to the

dredging areas, as well as the sea turtles and other large marine

mammals populations living in the bay.

48. Daya Bay comprises an area of about 600 km

2 with a winding coastline of

92km in length. The bay has a rich benthic and pelagic environment with

several sensitive areas including biotopes with coral formations,

seaweeds, oyster beds, aquaculture sites and fishing areas.

49. To satisfy the requirement of preserving these sensitive areas, dredging

and navigation was performed with minimum damage, interference or

disturbance to the environment. The main mitigation measure taken to

achieve this requirement was to not allow overflowing of hopper dredgers

and the transport barges. Additionally, strict limits and monitoring

requirements were set to control the water quality at coral and aquaculture

sites. Boskalis’ environmental specialists designed the required

monitoring plan in consultation with the client, and carried out the

execution of the monitoring program and reporting.

50. TSS levels were measured around the dredger using a dedicated

monitoring vessel and equipment similar to those used for the Gothenburg

project even though one of the objectives of the dredging plan was to not

exceed threshold levels at pre-defined distances from the dredging

activities. In addition to TSS levels, sedimentation was monitored to make

sure the coral habitats were not at risk of burial. The health of the coral

communities was also monitored by divers who took video images of the

coral to compare with video footage taken before the dredging activities

started.

51. It was agreed that any exceedence of the environmental limits was to be

reported to the client immediately. In a situation in which ongoing

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exceedences were observed, it was also agreed that a detailed study of

the monitored data would be carried out and the source(s) of the

increased TSS in the water identified, enabling appropriate action(s) by

means of applying additional mitigating measures that were to be taken.

52. Over the course of the project, no exceedence of environmental limits was

observed. This project is an excellent demonstration of the environmental

success that can be achieved in a dredging project when proper planning

of dredging operations, which takes account of all sensitive environments

which could be potentially impacted, is carried out in combination with

adequate and accurate monitoring. Upon completion of the project, the

client awarded Boskalis with a Letter of Appreciation for the environmental

monitoring campaign.

Gabon Fertilizer Plant, Port Gentil, Gabon (2013)

53. This example illustrates Boskalis’ experience and capability in the

operational design, modelling and monitoring of underwater sound effects,

mammal observations and taking mitigation measures.

54. In 2013, Boskalis worked on the construction of a new industrial area in

Gabon. Protecting the marine environment was a major challenge on this

project and of keen interest to Boskalis. An important consideration was

to mitigate sound disturbance and other factors potentially affecting marine

mammals. Port Gentil is Gabon's second port city and is located in

Cap Lopez Bay, which is home to large numbers of humpback whales in

the winter.

55. In Port Gentil, the government has designated an area of 1,500 hectares

as an industrial free-trade area. The first activity is the development of the

Gabon Fertilizer Company (GFC), for which 80 hectares of land is being

reclaimed.

56. As the main financier for GFC, the International Finance Corporation (IFC),

part of the World Bank, sets tough environmental requirements. One of

the requirements focused on limited noise nuisance by the dredging

equipment. Another requirement focused on preserving the original shape

of the bay because the whales use the underwater slopes of the bay to

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protect and feed their young, and because this bay also serves as a

regional humpback whale birthing location.

57. During the preparation phase, a creative solution was devised that would

keep the sound level to a minimum and, at the same time, barely affect the

shape of the bay. The solution involved dredging reclamation sediment

via an underwater lagoon, as opposed to dredging along the bay coastline.

As a result, the slopes of the bay remained virtually unaffected, with the

impact limited to the created entrance to the sediment-extraction lagoon.

The remaining sediment barrier between the extraction lagoon and the bay

acted to dampen the sound penetration of the dredging activities into the

bay, as well as confined the turbidity generation to the extraction lagoon.

Figure 3: Underwater lagoon for underwater sound mitigation at Port Gentil, Gabon

58. The environmental engineers took various initiatives to determine whether

the approach would reduce underwater noise levels adequately. Sound

measurements were taken at various times and at various locations in the

bay which were used in turn to validate the predictive sound modelling

carried out during the dredge plan development. Beyond the model

validation component, it was determined that the natural sediment barrier

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was even more effective at muffling the dredging-related sounds than

expected.

59. Alongside these measurements, a team of professional and project-trained

Marine Mammal Observers were active throughout the course of the

dredging activities. The employees of the dredging fleet and the support

vessels also followed the ‘Marine Mammal Observer’ training course,

which taught them how to spot and avoid whales and other marine

animals, such as dolphins and turtles. Through observations by the

dedicated Marine Mammal Observers, the sound of the dredging activities

was found to have no visible impact on the sea mammals’ behaviour.

60. The project in Gabon won the British Expertise Awards 2013/14 –

Outstanding International Environmental Project.

Mejillones Port and Waterway Engineering, November 2002 to April 2003

61. This example illustrates Boskalis’ experience and capability in the design

and execution of an environmental monitoring campaign with a main focus

on meeting a clear physical limit on turbidity plume dimensions and

concentration.

62. In Mejillones, Chile, a new Mega Port project has been developed for the

shipping of copper. Boskalis International BV worked as a subcontractor

of the Chilean civil contractor Empresa Constructora BELFI SA during the

construction of the first phase of the Mega Port project. The dredging

works for the three terminals and turning basin involved the removal of a

top layer of 250,000 m3 of fine-to-coarse sands by the trailer suction

hopper dredger Resolution and 750,000 m3 of diatomic silts by the cutter

suction dredger Amstel.

63. Because the Bay of Mejillones is an environmentally sensitive area,

Boskalis developed and carried out an extensive environmental monitoring

program. Monitored parameters included suspended solids concentration,

turbidity, current speed and direction, chlorophyll-a, conductivity,

temperature and transparency.

64. The environmental monitoring plan and dredging plan were designed to

comply with environmental restrictions. The most important restrictions

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were on the size of the suspended sediment plumes generated at the

dredging and disposal sites. The plumes were defined as those areas

within which the suspended solids concentration was higher than 400

mg/l. These areas were not allowed to be larger than 150ha at the

dredging site, and 200ha at the disposal site. Also, the suspended solids

concentration was to remain below 400 mg/l at all times in specified

protection zones along the coast of the Bay of Mejillones.

65. In order to minimise the release of suspended solids, the dredged material

had to be collected into a barge or similar vessel, which would release

overflowed material below the water surface. The dredged material had to

be disposed of in a defined disposal area, which was located 2km away

from the dredging site, in a deeper part of the bay.

66. The size of the plumes in the dredging and disposal areas were to be

determined by taking samples at eight or more locations in a grid

formation, in the area of the plume, during dredging and disposal activities.

These measurements were done once a day.

67. In addition, 11 fixed stations around the bay were to be monitored at

specified intervals to check that suspended solids levels remained well

below critical thresholds for the sensitive receptors in the area and there

were no adverse impacts on the environment at the boundaries of the

protected areas. The daily monitoring program during dredging phases

one and two consisted of five to seven fixed stations, eight or more

sampling locations in the dredging area and eight or more sampling

locations in the disposal area.

68. During the entire period of dredging, suspended solids concentrations

stayed well below the limits set in the environmental specifications in all

areas. Therefore, the programming of dredging activities required no

adjustment. Conductivity, temperature, salinity, density and chlorophyll-a

all showed fluctuation within the natural variability of the system for the

entire duration of the project.

BOSKALIS’ OPERATIONAL TRACK RECORD

For the last 15 year years, Boskalis has successfully carried out a variety

of projects requiring deep sea operations and complex sediment

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processing. In the following paragraphs, I briefly describe a selection of

projects that involved similar technology to that proposed for CRP's

proposal.

White Rose and Terra Nova Project, 2001-2003

69. These examples illustrate Boskalis’ experience and capability in the

design, construction and operation of an innovative grab excavation

system, suspended by wires, to work at a waterdepth of 120m and

accurately positioned by ROV thrusters. Another illustration is given of the

use of an elongated suction pipe on a trailing suction hopper dredger. Both

techniques form important elements in the concept for trailing a draghead

and suction system in deeper water such as the Chatham Rise.

70. The White Rose offshore oil field is the third major oil field in the Jeanne

d’Arc Basin on the Grand Banks, some 350 kilometres east of St. John’s,

Newfoundland, Canada and within 50 kilometres from the Terra Nova and

Hibernia fields. The South White Rose oil pool covers approximately 40

square kilometres and contains an estimated 200-250 million barrels of

recoverable oil.

71. The area is subject to frequent iceberg migration, which forms a serious

hazard for offshore installations and has to be taken into account in the

design of offshore oil and gas facilities. To protect the subsea wellheads

and manifolds from iceberg scouring they are lowered into the seabed in

so-called glory holes (presently referred to as excavated drill centres).

72. There was no equipment readily available for the excavation of the White

Rose glory holes in 120 metres of water depth. Soil investigation showed

that very stiff clay, cobbles and boulders with sizes up to 1 metre, and

hard pan layers were present. To face this water depth and these soil

conditions, Boskalis proposed to excavate the holes with a large grab

deployed from the DP Class 2 Fallpipe Vessel, the Seahorse. This vessel

is normally used for rock dumping, generally for the protection and

stabilisation of offshore pipelines and ballasting of platforms.

73. For this specific project, a Grab Excavation System had been designed.

By using two wire-lifting points – one forward and one aft - the excavation

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system is able to transport the excavated material underwater just above

the seabed from the excavation point to the dumping location nearby the

glory hole, while the vessel keeps its position using its Dynamic

Positioning system. During the various phases of the excavation cycle, the

grab was heave-compensated. For maintaining precise position and

orientation of the clamshells, a ROV with four powerful thrusters was

mounted on top of it. For final levelling of the bottom of the glory holes,

with tolerances as narrow as +/-5 cm, a rock bedding layer was installed.

74. Boskalis introduced a new way of soil excavation, indeed after an

innovative engineering effort. The system proved its ability to construct

glory holes very accurately and to cope with challenging soil and

environmental conditions. The flexibility of the system ensures that similar

seabed rectification works can be undertaken in a range of soil

characteristics and in water depths up to 1,000 metres.

Figure 4: ROV controlled grab used in White Rose project for dredging excavated

drill centres at a waterdepth of 120m

75. The Terra Nova field is located 350km ESE of St John's Newfoundland

and 35km SE of Hibernia. The subsea layout consists of a production well

feeding into a template, which, in turn, will be connected by flexible

flowlines to a riser-base manifold (RBM). In order to protect the subsea

wells from iceberg scour, they will be set in glory holes.

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Figure 5: Queen of the Netherlands (at original length over all of 173m) with

elongated suction pipe for dredging excavated drill centres at a waterdepth of 110m

at the Terra Nova project.

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Laggan Project, 2012 - ongoing

76. This example illustrates Boskalis’ experience and capability in the deep

water rock installation and fall pipe operations. This technology has been

translated to the concept design for the CRP riser and the sinker pipe

systems.

77. The Laggan and Tormore gas fields are located in approximately 600

metres water depth in Blocks 206/1a (P911) and 205/5a (P1159)

respectively, and are situated some 125km North West of the Shetland

Islands on the UK Continental Shelf.

78. The Dynamically Positioned Fallpipe Vessel (FPV) “Rockpiper” was

dedicated to place rock material in a controlled and accurate manner to

protect subsea installations. For this purpose, the vessel is equipped with

a fallpipe system that can be deployed through a moon pool in the centre

part of the vessel. A Fallpipe Remotely Operated Vehicle (FPROV) is

located at the lower end of the fallpipe. The fallpipe system consists of

Glass-fibre Reinforced Polyester (GRP) sections, allowing the length of the

pipe to be adapted to the water depth. The average depth of the berms

was more than 600 meters.

79. The fallpipe sections are stored in the Rock Dumping Unit (RDU), which is

located in the centre part of the vessel and which also contains a transport

system for the pipe sections and auxiliary equipment for the pipe

assembly/disassembly. Furthermore the RDU contains hydraulic engines

and winches for the suspension of the fallpipe and FPROV. The fallpipe

system onboard of Rockpiper and other FPV’s operated by Boskalis has

been the basis for the design of the riser and sinker system for the

Chatham Project.

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Figure 6: Dynamically Positioned Fallpipe Vessel Rockpiper

Fox River Clean-up, Green Bay (WI), USA, 2008-ongoing

80. This example illustrates Boskalis’ experience and capability in the design,

construction and operation of a project specific separation plant.

81. As a result of industrialization, the riverbed of the Fox River (Wisconsin,

USA) had become contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).

Joining together, a number of large paper mills based on the banks of the

river have established the Fox River Cleanup Group to handle the

remediation project. The site is on the federal Superfund program’s

National Priorities List.

82. Stuyvesant’s affiliated company, Boskalis Dolman, designed and

constructed the processing plant within an expedited one year period. The

project is following the proven integrated approach that incorporates the

different project components, such as dredging, processing, dewatering,

beneficial use, transport and disposal.

83. The project started in 2008 and is expected to last 8 years. It is expected

that a total of 4 million cubic yards (CY) of PCB contaminated sediments

will be dredged from the Lower Fox River in Wisconsin. Three hydraulic

dredges are pumping the dredged sediments directly to the processing

plant. The plant is designed to process hydraulically dredged sediments

with a production rate of 250 in-situ CY per hour or 6,500 gpm. Treatment

includes oversized debris screening (+ 6 mm), two sizes of sand

separation and polishing, followed by mechanical dewatering of the fine

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contaminated fraction using large Membrane Plate and Frame Presses. A

total of 8 of these presses are operated on this project. The aim of the

project is to minimize contaminated volume by sand separation for

beneficial use and mechanical dewatering of the contaminated fine

fraction.

84. The remediation work got off to a successful start in April 2009 and the

project is expected to reach completion as scheduled in 2016.

85. Key figures for the plant:

200 m³ per hour in situ capacity

8 membrane filter presses with a capacity of 18 m³ each

9,000 m² for sand separation and mechanical dewatering

3,250 m² for rubble and sand storage

7,800 m² for sludge cake storage

1,000 m³ storage tank capacity (two units)

BOSKALIS’ RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TRACK RECORD

86. In addition to these applied project examples above, in recent years

Boskalis has also actively participated in, if not lead, a number of

innovative, environmentally-driven research endeavours, of which, some

examples are described below.

Building with Nature

87. In the development of new infrastructure and resource extraction projects,

conflicting interests and differences in the interpretation of environmental

legislation and regulations mean that interested parties are often pitched

against one another in arduous legal proceedings, with insufficient

knowledge about ecological preconditions playing a crucial role. Boskalis

sees eco-dynamic design as a possible solution. Boskalis is one of the

initiators and financiers of Ecoshape, the foundation that executes the

Building with Nature innovation program.

88. Building with Nature aims to utilise natural processes and provide

opportunities for nature while realising hydraulic infrastructure and marine

http://www.ecoshape.nl/

http://www.ecoshape.nl/en_GB/overview-bwn.html

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works. Design guidelines on how to make this happen in practice are the

main end product of the Building with Nature innovation programme. The

work is carried out by the EcoShape consortium, which consists of private

parties, government organisations and research institutes. As part of this

program, Boskalis aims to set new, internationally-accepted design

standards. In this way, Boskalis contributes towards the sustainable

management and development of densely populated river, delta and

coastal regions around the world.

89. In the Netherlands, the program has already produced various noteworthy

results. Over the past four years, the Building with Nature concept has

been developed and implemented, and has demonstrated that it works.

Subsequently, the Building with Nature approach has been strategically

chosen as the Boskalis framework when approaching projects in naturally

rich environments and/or with challenging environmental regulations.

Seabed Landscaping

90. Traditionally, dredging operators would extract sand, leaving the floor of

the pit relatively flat. However, a flat seascape does not encourage

biodiversity. Natural bedforms feature gradual changes in terms of water

depth, grain size, mud content and surrounding currents, thus providing a

variety of habitats for diverse marine species. It was therefore decided to

test the hypothesis that local seabed landscaping would help to speed up

the process of recolonisation, and promote higher biodiversity and

productivity.

91. The experiment involved selective dredging, leaving behind two sand

ridges in the designated borrow area for Maasvlakte 2. These artificial

bedforms are about 700 m long and 100 metres wide with crests

10 metres high, similar to natural sand waves. The first ridge was created

in 2010 in the eastern part of the borrow area, and the second in 2011 in

the southern part.

92. The recolonization of the Maasvlakte 2 borrow area has been monitored

since 2010. A marine ecologist, Martin Baptist from the Institute for Marine

Resources and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES) and leader of Building with

Nature’s monitoring sub-programme found that inside the pit were four to

five times more fish, and more species, than outside it

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TASS

93. Boskalis has coordinated a multi-year research project investigating and

predicting the development of dredging-induced sediment plumes. The

work was initiated by the Stichting Speurwerk Baggertechniek (SSB), a

strategic research platform of the Dutch dredging industry, in 1998. Since

2010, the project has been part of the Ecoshape | Building with Nature

innovation programme. The project was set-up with a threefold objective:

(a) to gain insight in dredging-induced turbidity to minimise

environmental impacts and to facilitate realisation of projects;

(b) to develop and validate a model to predict turbidity caused by

dredging; and

(c) to share proven knowledge with third parties.

94. The project has resulted in a new modelling tool, the Turbidity Assessment

Software (TASS). This software enables prediction of the far-field impact

of dredging operations. This demands thorough understanding of

sediment suspension and resuspension processes in the direct

neighbourhood of the vessel, as well as successive plume dispersion via

the ambient current. The project focuses on turbidity caused by Trailing

Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHDs) rather than any other type of dredging

equipment. The long project running time and substantial investments

reflect the complex and innovative character of the project.

95. The aim from the start of the TASS project was to make this software

available to the dredging industry as well as third party users. The

research on dredging-induced turbidity is currently embedded in the

Ecoshape | Building with Nature innovation program, which aims at

creating sustainable solutions for marine and inland water constructions.

Present efforts focus on further development and validation of the model

for a variety of environmental conditions, including the tropics. Once

thoroughly tested, the model will be made publicly available to facilitate

sound predictions of dredging-induced turbidity by contractors,

consultants, researchers and public authorities worldwide.

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BOSKALIS' INVOLVEMENT IN CHATHAM ROCK PHOSPHATE LIMITED'S

PROJECT

96. Boskalis is committed to continue its relationship with CRP. We have

made, and will continue to make, an important contribution to the

designing, operational planning and financial modelling of the mining

vessel and operations.

97. Boskalis believes that CRP's project is an excellent project and has

invested significant resources into it, and is also a shareholder in CRP.

Boskalis is acting as a technology partner to Chatham Rock Phosphate

Limited in helping to build the vessel, which involves an investment that is

estimated between 400 and 600 million euros.

98. Boskalis envisages creating roughly 100 full time positions for the vessel

operation and maintenance, of which 50% would be positions filled by

New Zealand nationals. Boskalis will open a local office for some of these

employees to manage the operation.

99. Our commitment to this project is therefore significant, and will involve

considerate further investment to the benefit of New Zealand.

Sander Steenbrink

28 August 2014

before the epa chatham rock phosphate marine … · 2019. 4. 6. · boskalis deployed equipment...

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