Over the coming years, Central Government will be working on reinforcing the Afsluitdijk in a sustainable manner, renovating locks and constructing a fish migration river between the IJsselmeer and the Wadden Sea. Hydraulic construction equipment will be used on this work, so there is always a risk of hydraulic oil leaking onto the land and into the surface water.
The consortium carrying out the work sought a solution that was able to contain an oil leak quickly, in order to prevent damage to the environment. They came across Unishore, a company from the Imbema Group. Unishore worked with the client and partners to develop a special containment system. Andre Thissen, Sales Engineer at Unishore, explains how the collaboration and solution came about.
Tackling an open water oil disaster quickly
When renovating the sea lock at IJmuiden, we even offered solutions for tackling oil leaks. When we heard of the project on the Afsluitdijk, we realised that the people there were encountering the same problems as we were. It was at that point that I got in touch with the project managers from Levvel, the contractors’ consortium, who were indeed encountering the same problem as the contractors at the sea lock.
Well prepared for combatting oil leaks
Our company has been operating in the offshore industry for many years now. This sector is well prepared for combating oil leaks at sea, which is why we know what’s required to tackle an oil spill. With that knowledge, I suggested to the project managers working on the Afsluitdijk that they might like to offer a solution to this problem.
Smart solution: 200 m long ‘oil boom’
Unishore put together some special and distinctive oil spill boxes, which were placed in strategic locations along the Afsluitdijk. A solution was also needed which would contain a major leak in open water immediately. A vessel that was able to roll out a 200 m long ‘oil boom’, a type of floating barrier, quickly, needed to be positioned in a strategic location. André entered into talks with a number of customers, including a metal construction company, to develop and construct a solution together.
