Netherlands Queen Máxima christens Van Oord dredger

The christening was also the final event in the celebrations marking Van Oord's 150th anniversary in 2018.

The vessel was moored along Wilhelminakade next to the Cruise Terminal in Rotterdam for the special event. After the christening ceremony, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch DJ duo Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano gave a musical performance.

Queen Máxima toured the Vox Amalia and met its crew. She also spoke to the engineers who supervised the vessel’s construction and to a group of youngsters representing Generation Z, the offspring of employees and shareholders, who shared their ideas about a sustainable future.

Van Oord celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2018 with various activities, including the christening of subsea rock installation vessel Bravenes in May and an international symposium in the Laurenskerk in November. During the symposium, the company was awarded the Royal designation.

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The Vox Amalia, a trailing suction hopper dredger, has large, powerful pumps and engines that enable it to dredge sand, clay, sludge and even gravel from sea or river beds. The Vox Amalia is 158 m long, 36 m wide and has a hopper capacity of 18,000 cu m. It was built in Spain under Van Oord’s supervision.

After the christening ceremony, the vessel will undergo trials in the Netherlands and then be deployed on dredging projects worldwide.

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