Van Oord

Van Oord is a Dutch family-owned maritime contractor with more than 150 years of experience in dredging, land reclamation, marine engineering and offshore energy projects. Founded in 1868 and headquartered in Rotterdam, it operates worldwide and has been granted the Royal designation. The company’s core activities span the construction and maintenance of ports and waterways, coastal protection and flood defence works, creation of artificial islands and large-scale land reclamation, as well as offshore infrastructure for the oil and gas sector and offshore wind. Its expertise covers the full chain from design to execution, including underwater drilling and blasting, trench dredging and backfilling, shore approaches, and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of shallow‑water pipelines and offshore wind farms. Van Oord employs roughly 5,000–5,800 people and operates a modern fleet of more than one hundred vessels and specialised equipment, forming one of the world’s largest dredging fleets. The company delivers projects across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, with Latin American subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Peru and a broad office network in markets such as the UK, Germany, Angola, Nigeria, India, Indonesia and Australia. Notable reference projects include Palm Jumeirah and The World islands in Dubai, the Oosterscheldekering storm surge barrier, gas and water infrastructure in the IJsselmeer, the Afsluitdijk and Houtrib dike reinforcements, major land reclamation in Luanda, Angola, and offshore wind projects such as Norther in Belgium, Borssele III and IV in the Netherlands and Yunlin and Greater Changhua in Taiwan. Strategically, Van Oord positions itself around the energy transition, climate adaptation and Dutch and international marine infrastructure. It reports multi‑billion‑euro annual revenues and has invested about EUR 1 billion in a new generation of more sustainable vessels, including LNG and hybrid dredgers, a methanol‑ready turbine installation vessel and a dual‑fuel cable‑laying vessel. The company emphasises stewardship, safety and sustainability, for example by integrating nature enhancement into coastal and flood protection works and piloting biodiversity measures such as oyster reef structures within offshore wind farms.