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The Yangtzekanaal was created in 2012 when the former Yangtzehaven was excavated. The channel connects the Beerkanaal with the Maasvlakte II port basins and provides access to Prinses Amaliahaven, Prinses Arianehaven, Prinses Alexiahaven, and Prinses Margriethaven. Learn more about the Yangtzekanaal Widening Programme.
Yangtzekanaal
After considering several alternatives, they found a vibration-free working method: digging a 30-metre-deep trench, pumping a mixture of cement and bentonite into it, and then allowing the foundation pipes and sheet piles to sink into place. ‘Our team affectionately calls that thick mixture “yoghurt”,’ De Vries says. ‘This has never been done on this scale for a structural wall,’ he clarifies. Smitsman: ‘The engineering firm, Witteveen+Bos, worked through weekends to calculate whether it was even possible – and it was.’
The completion of this section of the widened navigation route and the new quay wall is scheduled for spring 2026.
Van der Wee: ‘Therefore, a big compliment to all the colleagues involved, as well as to the contractor consortium of Van Oord, Hakkers and De Klerk, is fully deserved. We all supported the solution and maintained trust in each other. In the meantime, the entire quay wall has been successfully installed.’
Compliment
Project Manager Stefanie van der Wee explains, ‘We aimed to find a solution as quickly as possible, and in a way that would minimise vibration to the greatest extent. Those pipe tubes can be driven into the ground while rotating, but the sheet-pile boards are typically installed with vibrations. We explicitly took the interests of the company involved, Rhenus, into account in our search for a solution.’
'Despite thorough preparation, the ground reacted unpredictably during the piling of the quay wall with 30-metre-long pipe tubes,’ says Adriaan Smitsman, project engineer at the Port of Rotterdam Authority. Construction Manager Gauke de Vries agrees: ‘The vibrations turned out to have too great an effect on the surroundings, as the layering of the sand and clay produced unexpected effects. A nearby warehouse was at risk of subsidence as a result. We had no choice but to temporarily suspend the works.’
Over the coming years, container ships will navigate the Yangtzekanaal in greater numbers and dimensions towards the Maasvlakte II terminals. To give the current ships more room to move, and to allow ships that are only growing in size to pass, the navigable channel (the bed) of the Yangtzekanaal will be widened along its entire length over the coming years. This is part of our drive to develop a safe, accessible and efficient port of the future. The existing southern bank was also fitted with a new quay wall, designed to accommodate 12 tugboats.
Dealing with vibrations
It was evident from the outset that it would be a substantial task. However, the extent to which the project to widen the Yangtzekanaal (or: Yangtze canal) and construct 500 metres of quay wall would demand adaptability, inventiveness, and infrastructural flexibility came as a surprise. The team at the Port of Rotterdam Authority tell us how they had to (successfully!) improvise when piling suddenly became impossible.
Key to the success of widening the navigable channel of the Yangtzekanaal
BUILDING THE FUTURE
The Yangtzekanaal was created in 2012 when the former Yangtzehaven was excavated. The channel connects the Beerkanaal with the Maasvlakte II port basins and provides access to Prinses Amaliahaven, Prinses Arianehaven, Prinses Alexiahaven, and Prinses Margriethaven. Learn more about the Yangtzekanaal Widening Programme.
Yangtzekanaal
The completion of this section of the widened navigation route and the new quay wall is scheduled for spring 2026.
Van der Wee: ‘Therefore, a big compliment to all the colleagues involved, as well as to the contractor consortium of Van Oord, Hakkers and De Klerk, is fully deserved. We all supported the solution and maintained trust in each other. In the meantime, the entire quay wall has been successfully installed.’
Compliment
'Despite thorough preparation, the ground reacted unpredictably during the piling of the quay wall with 30-metre-long pipe tubes,’ says Adriaan Smitsman, project engineer at the Port of Rotterdam Authority. Construction Manager Gauke de Vries agrees: ‘The vibrations turned out to have too great an effect on the surroundings, as the layering of the sand and clay produced unexpected effects. A nearby warehouse was at risk of subsidence as a result. We had no choice but to temporarily suspend the works.’
Key to the success of widening the navigable channel of the Yangtzekanaal
After considering several alternatives, they found a vibration-free working method: digging a 30-metre-deep trench, pumping a mixture of cement and bentonite into it, and then allowing the foundation pipes and sheet piles to sink into place. ‘Our team affectionately calls that thick mixture “yoghurt”,’ De Vries says. ‘This has never been done on this scale for a structural wall,’ he clarifies. Smitsman: ‘The engineering firm, Witteveen+Bos, worked through weekends to calculate whether it was even possible – and it was.’
Project Manager Stefanie van der Wee explains, ‘We aimed to find a solution as quickly as possible, and in a way that would minimise vibration to the greatest extent. Those pipe tubes can be driven into the ground while rotating, but the sheet-pile boards are typically installed with vibrations. We explicitly took the interests of the company involved, Rhenus, into account in our search for a solution.’
Dealing with vibrations
Over the coming years, container ships will navigate the Yangtzekanaal in greater numbers and dimensions towards the Maasvlakte II terminals. To give the current ships more room to move, and to allow ships that are only growing in size to pass, the navigable channel (the bed) of the Yangtzekanaal will be widened along its entire length over the coming years. This is part of our drive to develop a safe, accessible and efficient port of the future. The existing southern bank was also fitted with a new quay wall, designed to accommodate 12 tugboats.
It was evident from the outset that it would be a substantial task. However, the extent to which the project to widen the Yangtzekanaal (or: Yangtze canal) and construct 500 metres of quay wall would demand adaptability, inventiveness, and infrastructural flexibility came as a surprise. The team at the Port of Rotterdam Authority tell us how they had to (successfully!) improvise when piling suddenly became impossible.
BUILDING THE FUTURE