Rijkswaterstaat is busy installing some 800 plastic barrels along the navigation channels in the Wadden Sea. The brightly colored marking is expected to make it a lot safer for recreational craft.
Until recently, the fairways were marked with wooden ‘pins’ – in fact nothing more than unprocessed tree trunks pierced into the sea bed. The jabs often disappeared after a collision or drifted away.
“A plastic barrel has a lifespan of fifteen years. A wooden spike has a lifespan of a few weeks or months,” says Johan Penninga of Rijkswaterstaat at Omrop Fryslân. “If a storm comes over or a yacht sails against it or a fisherman comes along and cuts it down with his madman, then such a prick is gone. Then it floats along and then you have nothing left.”
Plastic as a sustainable solution
The heavy plastic barrels therefore make the navigation channels a lot safer because they remain firmly in place. And even if it sounds contradictory: Rijkswaterstaat also talks about a sustainable solution.
“Sustainability and wood seem to belong together. But in terms of costs, safety and labor intensity, this is a bit more nuanced”, says Penninga. “Every year, the Wadden Sea gets up to three or four pins per spot through it. Placing a wooden spike is manual work and very labor-intensive. And every time fuel is burned to put them back again. or anti-rust and is health and safety friendly. They are recycled after fifteen years. “
Rijkswaterstaat will be on the road with three ships in the coming week, to also provide the last small shipping channels with plastic barrels. The intention is to finish the work before Easter. Large iron buoys lie along the large shipping channels in the Wadden Sea.
For enthusiasts: the wooden prick will not disappear completely from the Wad. For example, marinas on the Wadden Sea will continue to use it to properly indicate the last meters from the fairway to the berths.
–
