First gate delivered for giant sea lock in Netherlands

Jan 25, 2019 by Triton Staff

The first of three gates for what is being billed as “the largest sea lock in the world,” currently under construction at the entrance of the North Sea Canal at IJmuiden, Netherlands, has been towed to the site by a tug from Maasvlakte 2 in Rotterdam, according to a gCaptain report.

Because of their size, all three gates that arrived from South Korea aboard the heavy lift vessel Talisman in December had to be unloaded in Rotterdam before transport to IJmuiden. The first gate to arrive is 236 feet (72m) long, nearly 79 feet (24m) high, and 36 feet (11m) wide, and weighs about 3,000 tons. The other two gates will be towed to the site when the weather is suitable.

In order to provide larger vessels access to the Amsterdam port region, the new IJmuiden lock will be 1,640 feet (500m) long, nearly 230 feet (70m) wide and 59 feet (18m) deep, according to the report. Construction began in 2016.

Topics: