In the Dutch section of the North Sea are four wrecks of sunken ships that are forming an obstruction to shipping. Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, has ordered the complete removal of one of these wrecks and the partial clearance of the other three in order to restore the shipping channels concerned to their required depth.
This will speed up the flow of shipping, improve access to the Dutch seaports and make the waterways safer.
Boskalis/SMIT will be responsible for clearing two of the wrecks. These activities will take place during the month of July. A salvage grab will be used to clear the wreck of an unknown ship in the IJgeul, until the shipping channel has reached the desired depth. The other wreck – the sunken fishing trawler Jan Breydel – will be raised in its entirety and removed.
