DEME DEME HOME ABOUT WHAT WE DO OUR TECHNOLOGY SAFETY SUSTAINABILITY CAREERS NEWS CONTACT Search Home What we do Maintenance dredging, River Scheldt CHALLENGE Maintenance dredging and deepening in the navigation channel of the River Scheldt between Vlissingen and the sea lock at Wintam (Hingene). The River Scheldt is a tidal river characterized by strong currents, shallow sandbars and busy traffic. The River Scheldt is the only maritime access to the Port of Antwerp so plays a vital role in the economy. Given its strategic importance, the Flemish Government guarantees a minimum depth for seagoing vessels along the trajectory towards the port. However, as there is a constant process of sedimentation, maintenance dredging is crucial all year round. As vessels are getting larger, several deepening dredging campaigns have been necessary in the past. SOLUTION DEME has been providing solutions for the sedimentation build up in the river for decades – actually without interruption since 1930. On the bars of the Dutch sector of the River Scheldt, the sediment mainly consists of sand with average grain sizes varying between 150 and 200 micron. In the Belgian sector of the river, the dredged spoil consists of fine sand mixed with a varying volume of mud, depending on the season. While in the Western section of the Scheur (North Sea) we mainly dredge sand. Our trailing suction hopper dredgers dredge an average quantity of 14 million m³ of material per year. Over the last 25 years sand coming from our dredging works has been used for the hydraulic reclamation of the polder areas in order to obtain additional industrial sites on the right and left bank of the River Scheldt and for the construction of the embankment and foundations of highways. Used technology Trailing suction hopper dredgers Cutter suction dredgers Backhoe dredgers While within the framework of the Delta Works in the Netherlands and the Sigma flood protection plan in Belgium, several million cubic metres of sand from the dredging works were used to reinforce and raise the dykes. However, in the most recent years, the vast majority of the dredged sand stays in the tidal system – by preference in the flood channels - in order to guide the river through the main channel and avoid oblique currents over the sand bars. We also dump sand in the deepest sections of the main channel and also along some banks to stop erosion and to increase the radius of the main channel in the bends. In order to maintain the dynamic equilibrium of the river system, the annual volume evacuated is limited to the estimated amounts of solids conveyed by the sea and deposited on the riverbed. RELATED JOBS ALL JOBS QHSE engineer DEME's objective is to provide a healthy work environment, to promote sound work practices and a healthy lifestyle for everyone involved in our business. QHSE is therefore one of the supportive departments that is involved in all Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental matters on our projects, vessels, and in HQ. As a project QHSE engineer you will be part of the team that is on site on one of our dredging projects worldwide, responsible for the maintenance and control of QHSE-S practices on site, as well as inspecting all activities and equipment to reassure proper operation and implementation of procedures. DREDGING QHSE BELGIUM SEE DETAILS Marine Coordinator As a marine coordinator you will be part of the marine operations team within the QHSE department of DEME. DEME's objective is to provide a healthy work environment, to promote sound work practices and a healthy lifestyle for everyone involved in our business. QHSE is therefore one of the supportive departments that is involved in all Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental matters on our projects, vessels, and in HQ. DREDGING QHSE BELGIUM SEE DETAILS As a student of the maritime academy, you can do an internship on board our vessels during the Easter period of 2022. Please apply with your CV and motivation letter. At the end of January, you will receive an answer to your application. Good luck! DEME Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Twitter Youtube TikTok Legal disclaimer copyright © 2021 DEME. All rights reserved X Want a cookie? We use cookies to improve our services and website. You can read more here. If you continue to use our website, you automatically agree. SURE, GREAT NO, THANKS