After 17 months of canal quayside work, towing and pushing, welding and cutting and various additional jobs, the job is done for the crew and their special multipurpose work vessel ‘Destiny’ of AGB Maritiem. The pusher/’multicat’ vessel was part of the Dutch Twente canals upgrading project undertaken by marine contractors Van Oord, Hakkers and Beens.
The Twente canals are important logistics links for the inland ports of Almelo, Hengelo and Enschede. In 2020, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management decided to widen and deepen them to 2.80 m to make the waterways easier to navigate for larger and more heavily loaded ships. The – now achieved – goal was to make the ports more accessible, boosting the regional economy and employment.
Karel Aangeenbrug, co-founder of AGB Maritiem, says: “We had already done some great projects with the Destiny, but this was very special. It is our biggest project to date and we liked working in it, partly because the collaboration with our clients was smooth and the combination of contractors and subcontractors formed a fun and professional team. The upgrading required a lot of quay construction work, transport, and all kinds of supporting activities.”
A special workboat
The Destiny is a special workboat. The Aangeenbrug brothers converted the vessel – with hydraulically liftable wheelhouse – into a multi-purpose vessel, type ‘multicat’, while retaining its push bow. The vessel has a 60-ton-metre crane for heavy duty work and a 26-tonne crane for auxiliary jobs. At 18.80 x 8.20 m, it is a compact boat (with a very low draught), but it has everything on board to get the job done. Apart from the cranes, for example, it also has a moonpool, two 80-tonne hydraulic winches and 2 spud poles. In order to avoid surprises during a job, AGB brings its own array of additional tools, such as welding and cutting equipment, as standard.
Aangeenbrug: “It is a wonderful boat and suitable for many types of work. For example, customers deploy us for diving support, quay or bottom inspections and repairs, lifting work and wet contracting. Recently, we even salvaged a sunken yacht!” AGB Maritiem mainly focuses on work on and near rivers, canals and harbours.
