Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. is a Dutch

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

and heavylift

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...

that provides services relating to the construction and maintenance of

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Pri ...

infrastructure internationally. The company has one of the world's largest dredging fleets, a large stake in

Smit International Smit Internationale N.V. (or Smit International) is a Dutch company operating in the maritime sector. The company was founded in 1842 by Fop Smit as a towage company with only the 140 horsepower paddle steamer tug ''Kinderdijk''. Fop's sons, ...

and owns Dockwise, a large heavylift shipping company. As of 2020, Boskalis employs around 9,900 employees and 650 ships. They operate in over 75 countries in six continents.

History

Boskalis (''Bos & Kalis'') was founded as Johannes Kraaijeveld en van Noordenne in 1910 by Johannes Kraaijeveld and Eliza van Noordenne. In the thirties it was renamed NV Baggermaatschappij Bos & Kalis when Gerrit Jan Bos, Wilhelm Bos, Egbertus Dingeman Kalis and Kobus Kalis took over. In between the two wars, Boskalis contributed to the Zuiderzee project. The company inked a contract in 1931 for the dredging of

Bromborough Dock Bromborough Dock was situated on the River Mersey at Bromborough, on the Wirral Peninsula, England. Owned by the manufacturer Lever Brothers (and its successor Unilever), it served the company's factory at Port Sunlight. The facility was once th ...

. In 1933, Boskalis partnered with the Westminster Dredging Company (based in

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

, England), which opened business opportunities with West Africa.

Listing, developments 1970 to 2000

Boskalis became a public company in 1970. Boskalis received the designation "Royal" in 1978. In the 1980s economic and political circumstances forced Boskalis to concentrate on its core dredging business.Bouwens en Sluyterman, Verdiept verleden (2010) p.323 More acquisitions followed in the 1990s as the company acquired a 40% interest in Archirodon Group. During this period Boskalis was also involved in several major land reclamation projects. In Hong Kong the company worked on the major land reclamation project for the new Chek Lap Kok airport and in Singapore it cooperated on a multi-year development program.

Since 2000

In 2007 the company was engaged in two major contracts in Australia — a €300 million contract to deepen the shipping channels of Port Phillip in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

, utilising its dredge the Queen of the Netherlands, and a €50 million contract to expand the harbour at Newcastle. The company is also involved in a €1.1 billion contract to develop a new port in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...

Purchase of Smit and Dockwise

On 15 September 2008 Boskalis offered €1.11 billion for fellow Dutch maritime company

. Despite the offer being promptly rejected by Smit's board, Boskalis subsequently built a stake of over 25% in the firm and expressed a continuing desire to buy a number of its business units. A revised offer of €1.35 billion was accepted by Smit in January 2010, with Boskalis declaring its offer unconditional that March. In 2011 Boskalis acquired MNO Vervat in The Netherlands. In 2013, Boskalis acquired Dockwise, a heavy marine transport company.

Suez Canal blockage

Two Boskalis tugboats helped the eleven Egyptian tugs in the dredging and towing operation to free the 400-metre long ship '' Ever Given'', which ran aground in the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...

on 23 March 2021, and got stuck diagonally and therefore blocked the Suez Canal from 23 till 29 March 2021 during which time the canal was impassable. A traffic jam of around 400 ships was the result of the blockage of the canal.

Controversies

Boskalis has been informally accused of bribing

Mauritian Mauritians (singular Mauritian; french: Mauricien; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a multi-ethnic society, with notable groups of people of South Asian (notabl ...

politicians to obtain the contract to dredge the Canal Anglais.BOSKALIS: A Relative Of Siddick Chady Accused
, ''Mopays'', 23 June 2012

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies based in South Holland Construction and civil engineering companies of the Netherlands Multinational companies headquartered in the Netherlands Dredging companies Dutch brands Papendrecht Companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1910 Dutch companies established in 1910