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ANNUAL REPORT 2016 – BOSKALIS
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a letter of intent was signed for the very sizable Duqm Port
development in Oman. A great project for our new mega cutter
Helios to sink its teeth into.
OFFSHORE ENERGY
The largest market change we experienced in 2016 was at
Offshore Energy. We saw the market and order intake dry up more
and more, but we were still very busy with numerous projects from
the order book. We set a new record transporting the FPU Likouf
for the expansion of the Moho Nord oil field. At 80,500 tons, it
was the heaviest cargo that the Dockwise Vanguard had ever
transported. In addition, we transported two topsides and various
platform modules with six Dockwise vessels from South Korea to
the Clair oil field west of the Shetland Islands. And for the Hebron
project in Canada various platform modules were transported by
the Blue Marlin and installed using the Taklift 6 sheerleg crane.
The acquisition of the VolkerWessels offshore activities was
finalized at the start of July. This transaction strengthened our
position in the growing offshore wind energy market considerably.
As a result of the acquisition we executed two large offshore wind
farm projects on a 100% basis in 2016: Veja Mate and Wikinger.
Furthermore, the Offshore Energy division was able to secure
impressive new offshore wind projects such as the Aberdeen
Offshore Wind Farm for Vattenfall and the Hornsea Offshore
Wind Farm Project One for DONG. We will transport and install
the jacket foundations using our new 3,000 ton crane vessel –
a Dockwise transport vessel that is currently being converted.
Our subsidiary VBMS also acquired numerous contracts and will
install the export cables for the Borssele offshore wind farms on
behalf of Dutch grid operator TenneT.
TOWAGE & SALVAGE
At Towage we established the European harbor towage joint
venture between SMIT and KOTUG in the first half of the year.
The 50/50 joint venture operates 64 tugs in eleven ports in four
countries. This was an important step in the execution of our
strategy aimed at developing and expanding regional partnerships.
Today we offer towage services in 90 ports around the world with
some 425 vessels through our four towage joint ventures.
At Salvage it was a quieter year after the previous record years.
However, a number of impressive projects were executed,
including salvaging the car carrier Modern Express in the Bay of
Biscay to help prevent a major environmental disaster and
refloating the 19,000 TEU container ship Indian Ocean on the
Elbe River.
SAFETY AND QUALITY
In our sixth NINA year we once again made important progress
expanding the rollout of this global safety program. In addition,
we introduced the Mooring and Safe Mind workboxes containing
practical training methods and tools.
Great strides were also made with the development of our new
quality system, the Boskalis Way of Working. Aimed at harmonizing
various business processes and support systems, the Boskalis
Way of Working quality system will be introduced in the course
of 2017.
ADAPTING TO THE NEW REALITY
All the hard work and many new projects acquired during the year
could, however, not prevent more and more gaps from appearing in
our fleet schedules. Considering the prospects going forward, we
came to the inevitable conclusion that we have to align the size of
the fleet with the market. After a comprehensive study we decided to
take 24 vessels out of service: ten at Dredging and fourteen at
Offshore Energy. This was a difficult decision, particularly for the
650 colleagues affected. In close consultation with the Works
Council we carefully completed the advisory process and agreed
on a fair social plan.
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
We expect the current market environment to persist in the coming
years. In order to respond to this outlook and to prepare ourselves
for the period that follows we have been working hard on our
2017-2019 Corporate Business Plan, the main points of which
can be found in this annual report.
With the right focus and optimization of our existing business
portfolio we can successfully steer the company through this
difficult period. Results will be lower than in the extremely
profitable previous years but our financial position is very strong
and healthy with nearly EUR 1 billion in cash at the end of 2016.
We will continue to generate a strong cash flow in the coming
years which, in turn, will provide opportunities. Where these
opportunities will present themselves, we will invest to strengthen
the company selectively. Not only for the coming years, but also
most certainly for the period thereafter when the market is
expected to pick up again.
On behalf of the Board of Management I want to thank all our
colleagues for their commitment and great efforts in 2016, as well
as our clients, partners and shareholders for the trust and
confidence they place in us.
Peter Berdowski