Annual r eport 2002 Annual r eport 2002 - Boskalis

Left Edgar van Herwijnen
and right Gertjan Grundlehner.
Wave patterns translated into working days
Boskalis engineers defy the waves. Literally.
The waves of the sea are the basis for their calculations
about how many days a ship can work.
“Satellites measure the waves around the globe”,
explains engineer Edgar van Herwijnen. “We adapt
that data for the region where we have projects planned
or in progress.” To optimize these calculations,
Boskalis is engaged in a research project with other
dredging companies. In collaboration with the
Norwegian meteorological institute Oceanor, World
Waves is being developed, a computer program
that makes projections on the basis of deep-sea
wave movements for the project sites.
But this information is not enough for Boskalis.
The data about the waves then has to be linked up
to the equipment used. This is the job of engineer
Gertjan Grundlehner. “We try to decide exactly what
a ship’s limits are in terms of where she can work.
We have a theoretical model for the physical reality.
What wave size, direction and frequency can a ship
manage given her build? We work that out and then
test our conclusions in practice.”
Boskalis has developed its own computer models
in this area and it is also involved in a joint research
project for the dredging industry conducted by the
Dutch Maritime Research Institute, MARIN.
It is partly due to the emphasis on the development
of support techniques of this kind that Boskalis
can work efficiently and competitively on the international
dredging market. But the effect is broader.
Gertjan Grundlehner explains: “Once we have
determined a ship’s limitations, we try to improve
performance by making technical modifications.
In this way, we can get more out of the ships.”
28 Annual Report 2002