IJmuiden received permission from the government at the end of January to dredge the outer harbour entrance enabling vessels of up to 290m in length to call in future.
As a result of the dredging, MSC Cruises has confirmed a booking of 15 turnaround calls at the Felison Terminal from MSC Lirica-class ships in 2012. It is also considering bringing in a 293.8m-long MSC Musica-class vessel in 2013.
Partly blocked by an underwater obstruction to the west of the Forteiland, the size of the vessels that can moor at the berths in the basin has been restricted. “This is a major investment for the ports owner, Messrs Zeehaven IJmuiden NV,” says Peter van de Meerakker, chief executive officer Zeehaven IJmuiden.
More than 50% of the underwater obstruction will be removed, expanding the harbour entrance to a depth of 10m which is equal to the depth at the berths. The work is due to take about two weeks and will be completed by April 30. After this the port will be able to cater to the larger midsized cruise vessels on both transit and turnaround calls.
Until now the largest vessel calling Felison Terminal’s berth 3 in the IJmond Harbour has been MSC Lirica with a length of 251.25m during a trial run in “primary weather conditions” May 2005, says Ron Maes, general manager KVSA logistics & Felison Terminal. He adds: “During simulator tests last year we found that this class of ships could enter only under certain conditions. With the dredging away, the port has been opened up to vessels up to 290m.”
The port is planning to build a semi permanent structure at the Felison terminal to handle the turnaround passengers.
This year there will be 25 calls to the Dutch port.
