Location
United Kingdom / Europe
Project record
Port of Aberdeen 2026-2028 maintenance dredging
Port of Aberdeen; Freeway named for the 2026 maintenance-dredging campaign
Port of Aberdeen appointed Boskalis Westminster for annual maintenance-dredging campaigns across North Harbour and South Harbour from 2026 through 2028. The owner identifies trailing-suction hopper dredging and bed levelling, with Freeway and MTS Valour planned for the 2026 campaign. Its in-house survey team uses pre-campaign bathymetry to define volume, programme and cost, then interim surveys to guide safe completion.
Segment
Maintenance dredging and operating-port access
Status
Port of Aberdeen awarded Boskalis Westminster a three-year contract for annual North and South Harbour campaigns in 2026-2028; the 2026 campaign was scheduled from March with Freeway and MTS Valour, but no accepted campaign-completion record has been published / Confirmed
Last checked
1 August 2026
Coverage
Related sectors
Maintenance dredging and operating-port access is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.
Subject index
Related subjects
These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.
Project anatomy
Contract scope and delivery roles
- Client / authority
- Port of Aberdeen, owner and operator of North Harbour and South Harbour
- Delivery parties
- Boskalis Westminster Ltd - three-year maintenance-dredging contractor for annual 2026-2028 campaigns, Freeway - Boskalis trailing suction hopper dredger announced for the 2026 campaign, MTS Valour - bed-levelling vessel announced for the 2026 campaign, Port of Aberdeen hydrographic survey team - owner-side pre-campaign, interim and safe-completion survey authority; not a construction subcontractor, No reviewed primary source names disposal, beneficial-use, survey subcontract or other support-vessel parties
- Contract route
- Port of Aberdeen awarded a three-year service contract to Boskalis Westminster covering annual maintenance campaigns in 2026, 2027 and 2028. The owner retains hydrographic control, using pre-campaign bathymetry to set quantities, programme and cost estimate and interim surveys to guide the contractor.
- Execution window
- The award was announced on 20 March 2026. The first annual campaign was scheduled to start in March 2026, followed by further campaigns in 2027 and 2028. Each year's work and acceptance remain separate operational events under the framework.
- Works package
- Maintain depths at berths, channels and manoeuvring areas in North Harbour and South Harbour using trailing-suction hopper dredging and bed levelling so the port can continue accommodating vessels up to 300 metres, subject to survey and marine-licence controls.
- Marine interfaces
- Owner bathymetry sets the campaign volume and dredging plan. Interim surveys must coordinate the TSHD and bed-levelling passes before the port can confirm safe navigable depths. Live vessel movements, disposal licensing and separate North and South Harbour workfronts remain operating constraints.
- Commercial evidence boundary
- The multi-year contractor and 2026 plant are public, but commercial and production detail is sparse. The owner has not disclosed contract value, annual cubic metres, sediment destination, exact work areas or accepted post-campaign bathymetry. Those omissions prevent a physical-completion claim for 2026.
Project timeline
Material developments
Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.
Open this project in the Change LogThe port restated the operating access context
Port of Aberdeen linked its North and South Harbour infrastructure to vessels up to 300 metres without publishing a 2026 dredging-completion milestone.
SourceBoskalis received the three-year maintenance contract
The award established annual campaigns through 2028 and named Freeway and MTS Valour for the first campaign, while leaving value, quantity and final acceptance undisclosed.
SourceEvidence gap
What remains unverified
Outstanding evidence
- 2026 mobilisation and completion dates
- Annual dredged quantity and work-area allocation
- Sediment disposal or beneficial-use route
- Interim and final bathymetric survey results
- Marine Directorate licence conditions
- Plant changes across the 2027 and 2028 campaigns
- North and South Harbour safe-depth acceptance
Sources and related records
Read featured analysis Methodology Submit a correction Project tracker
Source collections
Project sources 4
- Three-year maintenance dredging contract awarded Port of Aberdeen, 20 March 2026
- Port infrastructure and operating context Port of Aberdeen, 22 June 2026
- River Dee emergency maintenance dredging precedent Port of Aberdeen, 9 February 2023
- Historical South Harbour maintenance-dredging BPEO Marine Directorate, Historical context reviewed 1 August 2026