Dutch marine contractor Van Oord has completed a coastal maintenance project in the Netherlands using 100% bio-LNG fuel.

The company’s LNG-fuelled trailing suction hopper dredger, Vox Apolonia, operated entirely on bio-LNG during the project, Van Oord said in a statement on its website this month. 

The vessel deposited around 1 million m3 of sand at Banjaard beach in Noord-Beveland under a contract from Rijkswaterstaat, the Netherlands’ public works agency.

In September, Van Oord said this was the first time in the Netherlands that such work had been carried out with a bio-LNG-powered dredger.

Bio-LNG is a cleaner alternative to fossil LNG. It is produced from organic waste and is chemically identical to fossil LNG, allowing it to be used in existing LNG-fuelled vessels without modification.

Van Oord said the fuel was supplied through its Green Fuel Fund, launched in late 2024 to help reduce the cost barrier for its clients.