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The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) and Royal Haskoning signed a declaration in which both parties agree to study the fea- sibility of artificial reefs off the Dutch coast. The construction of artificial reefs in the North Sea is a plan that Royal Haskoning launched last summer with a view to pro- tecting the coasts of North and South Holland against the sea. Royal Haskoning has already had experience of with the con- cept of artificial reefs as a means of coastal defense in Dubai. Bert Keijts (Director General of Rijkswaterstaat) and Jan Bout (Chairman of the Board of Management of Royal Haskoning) (pictured) signed the declaration during the Innovation Show in Maarssen. Both parties say that they believe the idea of reefs is an interesting option for keeping the Netherlands dry and safe. The feasibility study for man-made reefs in the North Sea will be phased. Each phase will end with a go/no-go moment before the next phase starts. The man-made reefs that are planned can help reduce heavy waves to normal proportions, protecting the coast during westerly storms. The reefs lie under the water and are built of natural materials. There are three alternatives for the reefs, varying in length, number and distance from the coast. www.royalhaskoning.com news Artificial Reef Off Dutch Coast Studied IOOS $2M RFQ Industry Day The IOOS products and services will be procured through the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) entitled "Professional Engineering Services", and Special Item Number 871-3 entitled "System Design, Engineering and Integration", RFQ Number 123298. The posting is available on www.ebuy.gsa.gov , accessible through company or agency Procurement offices. Award of two Delivery Orders is contemplated. DETAILS: January 20 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Bldg 3, Rm 4529 NOAA Complex Silver Spring. Registration required: CON- TACT Pauline.jaffe@noaa.gov, or (301) 713-8023x207. India’s New Research Vessel India will acquire by September 2007 a state-of-the-art research vessel for ocean research and deepsea mining. The vessel will be used for various technology demonstra- tion programs like deepsea mining, demon- stration of remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicle and oceanographic surveys. Sources said the government has been implementing the Polymetallic Nodules Program for explo- ration and development of relevant tech- nologies in the Pioneer area allotted to India in Central Indian Ocean Basin for potential exploitation of polymetallic nodules from deep sea. A crawler based shallow bed sand mining system was developed for sand min- ing at a water depth of 410 m. 8 MTR January 2006 MTR#1 (1-16).qxd 1/9/2006 2:10 PM Page 10
