The Eurogeul or Euromaasgeul is a channel dug in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

in conjunction with the

Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List of bus ...

. It has a length of 57 km and a depth of 23 meters.

Use

The Eurogeul is a so-called ''deep water route'' in the '' Traffic Separation Schemes'' of the Southern part of the North Sea and the English Channel.UK Hydographic Offic
17. TRAFFIC SEPARATION SCHEMES
, table 2: British Isles. Retrieved: 24 April 2012 Ships with a draft between 14 and 20 meters only need to use the last part of the Eurogeul: the Maasgeul. Ships with a depth of 20 meters or more need to use the entire length of the Eurogeul and will get a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

on board before entering the Eurogeul. The smaller ships will normally receive their pilot near the

pilot station A pilot station is an onshore headquarters for maritime pilots, or a place where pilots can be hired from. To get from a pilot station to an approaching ship, pilots need to use fast vessels to arrive in time, i.e. a pilot boat. History Histor ...

Maascenter buoy. The Eurogeul allows deep-water sea access to the Port of Rotterdam. At high tide it allows large container-ships and large ore carriers like the MS ''Berge Stahl'' or MV ''Vale Rio de Janeiro'' to enter Rotterdam. The VLOC ''Berge Stahl'' operates a frequent service between

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and Rotterdam to supply iron-ore for the German steel industry.

Maasgeul

The last 14 km section of the Eurogeul before approaching the coastline is called the ''Maasgeul''. Seagoing vessels with a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

of over 20 meters must necessarily take the Eurogeul. Other ships can take the Maasgeul directly. The navigation is strictly regulated. Attendance is about one ship per day (357 for the latest year available). The channel must be dredged and maintained; every year 5 to 7 million tons of sand are recovered. In 2008 the Eurogeul was expanded to an overall width of 600 meters. In 2012 the Maasgeul was widened to 830 meters, in order to accommodate larger ships. The work was completed in time for the opening of the new Maasvlakte, the

Maasvlakte 2 Maasvlakte 2 is a major civil engineering project in the Netherlands, constructing a new port and supporting infrastructure on reclaimed land adjoining the Maasvlakte. Approximately 2000 hectares will be reclaimed, behind a 4 km dike; approxi ...

.Dredging Today
Dutch ministry expands Maasgeul
18 February 2012. Visited: 24 April 2012.

Sources and references

{{reflist Canals in the Netherlands Canals in South Holland North Sea Port of Rotterdam Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta

Use

Maasgeul

See also

Sources and references