Innovative method: Free-hanging broker for mv pole placement

Activity in the port of Antwerp is growing. Not only the throughput, but also the number of ships and their size are increasing. In order to be able to berth large tankers at the new tank terminal in the future, the quay walls in Canal Dock B2 are being renewed.

The Port of Antwerp put the work - the replacement of the quay wall in Kanaaldok B2 in Antwerp - on the market with a public tender. It was Jan De Nul Group that was thus awarded the work. This global contracting company with headquarters in Luxembourg and branches worldwide is specialized in foundation techniques through its Soetaert-Soiltech division and has all the techniques in-house for this type of deep quay wall. Only the placement of the anchoring piles - the so-called "mv piles" - is somewhat new to it.

A work of stature

"Jan De Nul Group has a lot of experience in piling combi walls," says Jan Landuyt of Soetaert-Soiltech. "It is the combination that makes the work special. In canal dock B2 - over a stretch of 800 m - we first place 280 tubular piles with a diameter of 2 m and the same number of sheet piles for the combi wall, which will finally be anchored with 240 mv piles, preceded by the earthworks and finished with a concrete buckle. That makes the work large and extensive."

Unique approach

Installation of mv piles - here at an angle of 45°, is generally done using a fixed broker rack. This keeps the mv pile in the correct position during pile driving. But Jan De Nul Group does things differently. "We use a 60-meter long free-hanging broker from Liebherr hoisted by a 600-ton cable crane. So it is the crane that holds the broker and the mv pile at the right angle and position from the waterfront." With this, Jan De Nul Group uses a working method that is unique for the Benelux.

Positioning and fixing

The mv piles fall under the "big boys. They are HEM600 sections 43 m long weighing 12.5 tons each. "With these numbers, it is a challenge to position the mv pile and then place it correctly. Every time an mv pile is put in the ground, we move the crane." Still, people have now become adept at it and the work goes smoothly. "With new working methods, you have to overcome teething problems. So that was also the case here. But now it goes smoothly." In this way, Jan De Nul Group is putting 240 mv piles into the ground. A third of the work is now complete. At the end of 2019, Canal Dock B2 will be ready for deepening dredging and the reception of large shipping.   

Text | Liliane Verwoolde   Image | Jan de Nul Group