Van Oord Holds Christening of Vox Amalia

Van Oord’s trailing suction hopper dredge Vox Amalia was christened by Her Majesty Queen Maxima at a ceremony in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on December 14. Approximately 1,400 employees and guests were in attendance at this final event of the celebrations marking Van Oord’s 150th anniversary in 2018.

The vessel was moored along Wilhelminakade next to the Cruise Terminal in Rotterdam for this special event. Her Majesty Queen Máxima toured the Vox Amalia and met its crew. She also spoke to the engineers who supervised the vessel’s construction and to a group of youngsters representing Generation Z, the offspring of employees and shareholders, who shared their ideas about a sustainable future.

After the christening ceremony, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch DJ duo Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano gave a musical performance. The following day, employees and their families had the opportunity to visit the vessel.

The Vox Amalia is 158 meters (518 feet) long, 36 meters (118 feet) wide and has a hopper capacity of 18,000 cubic meters (23,543 cubic yards). It was built in Spain under Van Oord’s supervision. After the christening ceremony, the vessel will undergo trials in the Netherlands and then be deployed on dredging projects worldwide.