Multraship supports European civil construction projects

Both the Scheldt Tunnel and Princess Elisabeth Island projects presented challenges, such as submerging the concrete tunnel elements in a heavily congested waterway and installing caissons in unpredictable North Sea weather more than 24 nautical miles offshore.

These projects showed how complex and detailed infrastructure projects have become, said Mr Arts.

In the case of the Scheldt Tunnel, the 160 m-long concrete elements had to be towed almost 60 nautical miles from Zeebrugge to the Doel dock in Antwerp by Multraship vessels, were then prepared for immersion and towed out to the site.

They were positioned within the operating range of the shore-based winch systems and held on standby during the immersion phase, explained Mr Arts.  

Meanwhile, for Princess Elisabeth Island, the 22,000-tonne caissons, measuring 58-m long and 32-m high, required millimetre precision to form a secure, watertight outer wall for the island.

To ensure they were as prepared as possible, tow masters and vessel masters simulated the operational phases of each element to assess proposed methods, identify and mitigate potential risks and determine realistic timeframes, said Mr Arts, adding that simulations are now vital for complex scenarios that involve multiple tugs.

"To ensure we were as prepared as possible, Multraship’s methods were further developed into detailed and phase-specific planning, based on weather patterns, currents, tidal conditions and other environmental factors,” he noted.

“Tow masters need to know when and how to deviate from the original scenario if there are immediate changes to weather conditions,” Mr Arts added.

“We deliberately test and simulate these scenarios ahead of any major project to ensure we are aware of and able to handle any potential risks. The potential outcome if simulations did not take place could be catastrophic,” he added.

This emphasis on method discipline and preparation is central to modern project towage. Low-speed manoeuvrability, hydrodynamic behaviour, and towline load management have become critical factors, particularly where environmental forces interact with confined operating spaces.

These risks are often underestimated outside the towage sector but are dominating planning and execution at the project level, said Mr Arts.

Co-ordination with other stakeholders is another defining feature. Multraship was closely involved in discussions with authorities, pilots, and other parties throughout the extended preparation and planning period of these projects.

This early engagement helped ensure that agreed methods were workable in practice, compliant with local regulations, and could be executed safely by all crews once operations commenced.

“We support our clients as fully as possible to achieve a technically and operationally workable solution,” Mr Arts explains.

“For these projects, the areas were also very dense transport routes, so methods had to warrant maximum availability of the waterways for other traffic. Authorities needed to be convinced that the methods were safe and that all risks were mitigated.” 

Changing operational windows 

Flexibility during execution remains essential, even with extensive preparation. Strict weather limits were defined for both projects, supported by feasibility assessments and formal go or no-go procedures ahead of each phase.

Despite intensive monitoring, conditions occasionally changed, and operational windows closed unexpectedly.

In such cases, towage operations had to be rescheduled at short notice, increasing the need for skilled tow masters capable of responding quickly to changing project requirements.

During these periods, Multraship’s tow masters and project co-ordinators played an important role, maintaining clear communication with a large number of stakeholders while ensuring that agreed safety measures were consistently applied throughout the operation.

“On more than one occasion we had last-minute cancellations due to weather, where we had to reschedule all operations in record time,” said Mr Arts. “We also supported clients in sourcing equipment and services when capacity or specific knowledge was not available.”

Reflecting on lessons learned, Mr Arts highlighted both strategic and operational gains that Multraship is looking to take to its next projects.

“On a macro level, our team built up additional experience, which leads to more efficient preparation and execution in future projects,” he said.

“On a micro level, our lessons-learned system after each phase resulted in safer execution and shorter lead times, sometimes within the same project.”

As Europe’s infrastructure continues to expand offshore and beneath waterways, the role of project towage is becoming defined by early technical involvement, strict discipline, and close integration with construction planning.

For key players such as Multraship, this represents not a departure from traditional towage but its evolution into a core element of modern infrastructure delivery.

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