Page 14 - Navigator 19

FROM OLD LOCK
TO UNIQUE TEST LOCATION
SOON, THE PORT OF AMSTERDAM WILL BE ACCESSIBLE BY MEANS OF A NEW SEA LOCK. MEASURING 500 X 70 METRES, IT WILL IMMEDIATELY BECOME THE LARGEST SEA LOCK IN THE WORLD. BUT WHAT TO DO WITH THE OLD, NEIGHBOURING IJMUIDEN NORTH LOCK (NOORDERSLUIS)? AT 400 X 50 ME- TRES, IT IS QUITE FORMIDABLE AS WELL AND ITS TECHNICAL LIFESPAN WILL NOT EXPIRE UNTIL 2029. THE DUTCH MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND WATER MANAGEMENT HAS TRIED TO SOLVE THIS LUXURY PROBLEM BY LAUNCHING A COMPETI- TION OPEN TO ANYONE WITH IDEAS. AND REGISTERED PILOT ALLERT SCHOTMAN HAD AN IDEA.
BOUNTIFUL HARVEST
The competition yielded a bountiful harvest; from plans to use the soon-to-be-superfluous lock to generate power or for capturing plastic to converting it into a port area, business park or recreational area. The suggestion of pilot Allert Schotman - WaTERLab - is aimed at transfor- ming the North Lock into Europe’s leading field lab for the full-scale testing of innovations related to shipping, lock construction and water management.
WATERLAB
Schotman: “There is often a phase of uncertainty between every invention or innovation and its final implementation. There are
scale models, computer simulations and calculation models, but in many cases actual real-life testing is not an option. When it comes to maritime infrastructure, the North Lock offers an outstanding opportunity to provide that ‘missing link’ in the innovation process.”
What makes the North Lock so perfectly suitable for this - besides
the unique size of the test basin (400 x 50 x -15 metres Amsterdam Ordnance Datum) - is its situation on the shipping route to the port of Amsterdam, continues Schotman. “This makes it possible to direct shipping traffic through WaTERLab rather than through the New Sea Lock during testing periods. By opening the lock gate, the interaction between salt and fresh water allows for tremendous forces to be generated in the lock chamber, which can be used to test innovations in mooring systems, for example. Think of mooring via suction cups or magnets, alternative mooring systems such as ShoreTension, etc. The interaction between salt and fresh water also makes it possible
to test innovations related to flood defences and salt water intrusion
14 NAVIGATOR NL 2019 N°19