Hydrographic Society Benelux

On 15 February 2012, HSB organised a workshop in co-operation with MARIN Marine Research Institute Netherlands, in Wageningen. Originally intended to enable members of Deutsche Hydrografisches Gesellshaft to attend, a timing mismatch made this impossible in the end. The initiative to organise joint activities between HSB and DHyG will continue.

Approximately 35 HSB members attended the workshop, which was held at the excellent premises of hotel De Nieuwe Wereld (The New World). The hotel is a training facility for students, so all catering and associated activities were of the highest standard.
Five presentations focused on the interaction between various Dutch government institutes, e.g. Deltares and Rijkswaterstaat, with MARIN. MARIN’s Jos van Doorn introduced the foundation’s mission: hydraulic engineering research, facilities and organisational structure and illustrated the research activities with many interesting examples.

The next speaker was Martijn de Jong of Deltares in Delft. Deltares’ research focuses on civil and coastal engineering and on many occasions Deltares and MARIN combine their expertise to address more complex issues. One example of such co-operation was shown by both speakers. After an excellent lunch, Thaiënne van Dijk addressed the seabed morphodynamics of the Dutch continental shelf. As a physical geographer she is employed by Deltares in Utrecht and has led extensive studies in this field, in co-operation with the Dutch Hydrographic Office and Rijkswaterstaat. Based on the variability of bedforms, the survey programmes of both organisations are being optimised. Her lecture was a nice occasion to introduce Thaiënne to HSB members as chairwoman of the Hydro12 organising committee.

The remaining two speakers represented Rijkswaterstaat. Ernst Bolt of the Centre for Shipping and Transport addressed wind farm planning. It is surprising to many how very busy the North Sea has become and how difficult it is to find suitable locations for the many thousands of Megawatts required to reduce the national dependency on fossil fuels. Finally, Niels Kinneging of the Waterdienst presented his report on a holistic approach to structured data acquisition and management, based on streamlining the large variability in demands for information. At the end of the lecture programme, Jos van Doorn invited the attendees to a tour through MARIN’s buildings, showing their impressive test tanks and navigation simulators. Of course, the afternoon was closed informally. As usual, we collected pdf-versions of the lectures for members who were unable to attend the meeting. They can be found at website 1.

Organisation Hydro12 on Steam

The Hydrographic Society Benelux is organising the Hydro12 conference. The event is to be held from 13 to 15 November 2012 on board the SS Rotterdam, permanently moored in Rotterdam. The abstracts for presentations during the event are coming in with an extended deadline until 15 March 2012. A total of 40 presentations are expected during the days, in addition to keynote speakers and practical workshops. In addition, demos of equipment will be possible as well as side meetings and user conferences.

The interest for the trade show is also overwhelming. iXBLue reached out to support the Icebreaker party which is to be held in the special ambiance on board the vessel on Monday evening 12 November 2012. This promises to be a warm welcome and a good get-together. There are still options available to promote your company and products or services.

Excursions are being prepared to the Zandmotor, the sand supply engine in the North Sea and the land reclamation project Maasvlakte 2 extending the Port of Rotterdam in the years to come. Partners are also invited – and a partner programme will allow them to experience various aspects of the Dutch life and culture.

For those wishing to join the event, registration will be open from 15 April 2012, with an early bird booking fee giving a discount until 1July 2012. As the SS Rotterdam accommodates a hotel as well, delegates can experience a one-stop conference. All information can be found at website 2.