To stay on track for the 1.5°C pathway of the Paris Agreement, an accelerated energy transition is essential. Efficient offshore energy infrastructure planning, incorporating novel methods, is crucial and requires transparent, industry-wide discussion. However, two main challenges emerge: (i) the often-overlooked integration of energy islands in literature and (ii) the lack of a standardized techno-economic comparison method. A comprehensive review of offshore wind supply chain feasibility studies highlighted the need for explicit implementation of standardization, syntax and semantics in model development. Detailed assessment of international and industry standards revealed that no single standard fully covers the study's scope. Nevertheless, one ISO standard showed significant similarities in component definitions, with which this study's component definition is maximally aligned. The developed open-source model enables automated supply chain configuration generation, eventually calculating economic metrics such as the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH). Applying the developed techno-economic model to the 19.5GW case study hub North in the North Sea Energy programme demonstrated its applicability and the techno-economic advantages of integrating an offshore energy island. The key finding is that island-based configurations are economically more efficient for hydrogen production compared to platform or onshore setups. Comparison with other studies on hydrogen import indicates that the calculated LCOH range of 8.54 - 10.40 €/kg has the potential to compete with hydrogen imports, which often have overly optimistic estimates ranging from 4 to 9 €/kg. Ultimately, in this way, a standardized, transparent method for industry-wide collaboration is presented.

The increasing severity of river drought poses a potential threat to the operations of ports using rivers as hinterland connections. River droughts have impacted navigation in various rivers worldwide, including the Rhine river where instances of low water levels in 2018 and 2022 caused disruptions in navigation. As a consequence, inland vessels were forced to reduce their cargo loads. Seaport terminals that serve as crucial links between sea vessels and inland vessels may be impacted by changes in fleet composition, thereby affecting a terminal's cargo handling operations and storage. However, there is a lack of research quantifying the effects of low river levels on seaport processes and determining suitable methods to assess this impact using vessel movement data.

To address this research gap, this study aims to quantify the impact of low river levels on seaport processes by focusing on the EMO dry bulk terminal within the Port of Rotterdam as a case study. Given the connection between this port and the Rhine, which is known for its vulnerability to drought and serves as a vital route for inland navigation, the analysis begins by examining the impact of reduced river discharge on the dry bulk fleet sailing from Rotterdam to Germany utilising Information and Tracking System for Shipping (IVS) data. Additionally, Automatic Identification System (AIS) data is employed to assess the service time, the number of vessels and the berth occupancy within the terminal to quantify the impact of low river discharge on the cargo handling process within the terminal. Specifically investigating the effects on vessels being loaded and bound to the hinterland and those being unloaded after arriving from the sea. Finally, the study analyses the impact on the storage capacity of the EMO terminal using monthly cargo data provided by the terminal, by studying the balance between the amount of cargo being unloaded and loaded.

The findings show that vessels sailing along the Rhine are required to reduce their load as discharge decreases, leading to an increased number of vessels. However, this compensation by more vessels does not fully offset the load losses, resulting in a decrease in the total load carried per day when discharge decreases. Consequently, more vessels arrive at the EMO loading berths during low discharge periods to compensate for the reduced load and therefore loading time for vessels at these berths is shortened. Due to the increased vessel arrivals, the berth occupancy at the loading berths increases to a maximum of 65%. On the contrary, the berth occupancy at the unloading berths remains unaffected. Cargo flow analysis shows that the lowest cargo loading into inland vessels occurs during months without low discharge, rather than during the months with the lowest discharge. Additionally, the share of rail transport increases during low discharge months but remains below maximum capacity, indicating sufficient slack to handle all cargo. The stockpile analysis reveals a small surplus during low discharge months, although not as significant as in months with normal discharge levels.

Overall, the findings indicate that the large size of the EMO terminal allows it to withstand the impacts of past periods of low river discharge. As the loading berth's occupancy is not at its maximum capacity and the unloading berths remain unaffected, there is sufficient slack to accommodate additional vessels. Accordingly, adequate vessels are loaded to transport cargo to the hinterland, ensuring no impact on the stockpile and thus maintaining the storage operations at the EMO terminal without disruption.

While this research provides valuable insights, it is important to acknowledge that terminals of varying sizes or handling different cargo types may experience different impacts and should be subject to further investigation. Additionally, the limited availability of AIS and cargo data, with only one year of extreme drought (2022) for analysis, prevents drawing definitive trends and making long-term assumptions for future scenarios. Nevertheless, this study's methodology can be adopted in related studies to analyse more terminals and gain further insights.

To facilitate the energy transition, effective collaboration among all stakeholders is necessary. However, there is currently a lack of understanding regarding the impact of different components in the value chain on the energy system's overall structure and the final energy price. This knowledge gap poses a significant obstacle to cooperation and progress in the energy transition. It creates the risk that effort goes into developing certain partial solutions when they may not be feasible from a larger system perspective. By focusing on their own component, stakeholders do not fully take into account the needs and interests of others involved. As the development of green hydrogen projects is in its early stages, it is important to think in terms of systems. Stakeholders should establish an ecosystem where players operating in different parts of the value chain are collaborating together. This helps to de-risk projects, share lessons and promote the development of innovative, first-mover initiatives.

This study aims to develop a standardised method to evaluate offshore wind to hydrogen concepts through a techno-economic analysis. This analysis method combines technical analysis with economic evaluation of projects and concepts to determine the potential economic outcomes and impacts of implementing a particular technology or project.

Through stakeholder interviews, the study found that stakeholders in the offshore wind and hydrogen market have distinct objectives and concerns. Key factors influencing their willingness to contribute include confidentiality, competition, and reputation.

To increase the transparency of the model, it was developed in Python. A standard notation system was developed, which was presented alongside the model's results. This should aid in the understanding of the underlying assumptions.

This research study has investigated the effects of sills as a nature-based countermeasure to reduce saltwater intrusion within Rijnmond Drechtsteden. The effects of this measure have been assessed regarding its impact on port logistics and freshwater supply in the region. The heavily dredged New Waterway provides the vital open connection to the sea for port operations. Meanwhile this same waterway allows salt to intrude landwards into the estuary, placing pressure on the freshwater network. With climate change leading to rising sea levels and extreme variations in river discharge, the impacts on both stakeholders are likely to increase. Previous research into bed shallowing indicated detrimental effects for port operations, therefore alternative nature-based solutions need to be investigated such as underwater sills.

The impact of a sill has been assessed using the Frame of Reference approach (Van Koningsveld, 2003). To determine the relationship between each stakeholder, a quantitative trade off has been defined using the comparison tool as per the method of Iglesias (2022). The tool facilitates the comparison of individual effects created by (nature-based) interventions using design parameters and performance indicators.

Via an extensive literature study, critical design parameters were defined for underwater sills. It was concluded that sill height and sill length would have the greatest impact on both the port and the freshwater supply in the region.
Then, the impact on the stakeholders was defined through choosing specific performance indicators and modelling techniques. The performance of port logistics was represented via the percentage of accessible tides and modelled using a simplified case in the nautical traffic model OpenTNSim. The performance of the freshwater supply was quantified using the percentage of freshwater availability, this was modelled using the concept of an idealised estuary in Delft Flexible 3D Mesh (DFM).
The research method takes the operational objective of the port as a base to select specific sill designs. This objective depends on tidally bound inbound vessels having access for 99% of all tides (de Jong, 2020). To comply with this requirement, sill heights of 0.1m, 0.2m, 0.3m and lengths of 2km, 5km, 10km were chosen. The model results show that sill height has a large impact on accessible tides, therefore severely limiting the range of heights that could be considered. Sill length has a lesser impact, allowing for a wider range to be assessed.

The effect of the sill designs on freshwater availability is negligible, with responses varying between 0.01% and 0.8%. This lack of response indicates that the chosen sill designs are too small to have a significant impact on salt intrusion in the channel. The sill designs led to access percentages between 100% and 70%, a wider range of percentages was investigated to see the effect of a more flexible port.
The resulting trade off curves all exhibit linear functions, indicating the lack of any trade off relation between the performance indicators and the sill designs. Since the sill designs fail to achieve both operational objectives, the overall strategic objective is not met. It can therefore be concluded that underwater sills are not feasible in the case study of the Rotterdam waterways.
The research results indicate that other nature-based solutions should be investigated to better suit the actively dredged channels in the Rotterdam waterways. Alternative methods which can synergise with this active dredging characteristic may pose to be significantly effective.

Lock passage can potentially make up a third of a vessel’s travel time for inland waterway transport and therefore has a large impact on inland waterway and multimodal transport networks.
To reduce the overall environmental and economical impact of transport, there is an increasing interest in inland waterway transport relative to road and rail transport. To keep up with this shift towards inland waterway transport, models are created for the optimal arrangement of multimodal transport and transport on inland waterway networks. Hence, lock operations need to be carefully modelled.
The modelling of lock passage is often based on historical data and generalised for all the locks on the network. However, there are uncertainties in historical data, especially with the prospect of an increasing fleet size and more extreme seasonal changes. Additionally, locks can vary in functionality (e.g. recreational or professional use), operability and strategy (e.g. filling and emptying), structural design (e.g. capacity of lock chamber), and environmental conditions (e.g. water level differences).
These variations impact the passage time of phases in the locking cycle. An overgeneralised validation for a simulation model can result in inaccurate simulations for a specific lock.
Therefore, it is desired to use more lock specific data, which can be achieved by applying vessel specific data in the form of AIS (Automatic Identification Systems). AIS, live location data of professional vessels, is used in waterway traffic management, but is also collected for research purposes. The data is easily accessible for a desired period of time and area.
Literature studies show that analyses and validations of simulation models is a common practice with the combination of GPS based data. Some studies use AIS data around locks, only to find the total passage time of the vessel. A lock passage can be divided in more phases that impact the total passage and waiting time of a vessel, examples are the entering and exiting of the vessel and the
operating time of the lock itself.
The objective of this study is to find a generic method to derive validation parameters for simulation models of locks. Data derived from this study can further be used in the optimisation of lock passages in simulation models. In this way, any desired lock and for any circumstances (e.g. seasonal changes or periods of maintenance) a validation can be performed.
A method was created to translate AIS data to information that is relevant for a lock. This method enabled us to analyse the total passage time and the phases of a lock passage that impact this passage time. Based on the AIS data over a certain time period and considering the geometry of the lock, trajectories of passing vessels were derived. These movements were combined into lock cycles
and therefore the corresponding validation parameters could be identified. One example of these validation parameters was the lock operating time, which is estimated based on the principle that all vessels in the lock chamber stopped moving.
The lock specific data can be used to compare the data with the performance of a simulation model of a lock and period in time. This applies for models that only use the total passage time of a vessel, which in some situations might be sufficient. This also applies to models that consider more detailed lock passage. Since the method is based on positional data, the boundaries of the lock sections can be adjusted to the definitions used in the model.
The method is applied on a cases study of the Volkerak and Kreekrak locks. Firstly, the AIS data translation is performed for a lock to create data sets of the lock passages. Also, data of the water level at the lock is linked to each locking cycle. Secondly, this data is compared to a lock simulation in the same situation. The arrival rates, arrival speed, vessel dimensions and water level difference
are used as input to create a base simulation for various configurations. The lock simulation module of OpenTNSim is used because this is an open-source transport network simulation model developed at TU Delft.
The simulations are compared to the collected data, for a total of 18 segments on the trajectory passing the lock. The segments correspond to the phases of a locking cycle. The average passage time of each segment is compared between the vessels of the simulated and the collected data. Because of the large sample sizes, these comparisons created a view on the overall performance of the simulation for each segment.
The information found in the base simulations was further used to calibrate the OpenTNSim package. The vessel speed was adjusted on the approach and leaving of the lock chamber to match the trajectory of the arriving vessels. Also, the filling time of the the lock chamber was optimised for the simulation.
The Volkerak had a total of 24,446 vessels passing over the time period, this is comparable to the 24,570 vessels that were counted by Rijkswaterstaat in the same period. Three cases were selected to compare the simulation model, one vessel passing without waiting, one vessel passing with waiting and two vessels passing. These resulted in sample sizes of 943, 89 and 561 lock cycles respectively. The case study shows that, with a small sample size of 89 locking cycles, there can be large variability in passage times.
The largest deviations of the simulations relative to the collected data were found in the passage time of the segments between the waiting area and the lock chamber. Another deviation was found in the lock operating time for the case of two vessels passing.
The method used can give a large and useful data set of vessels passing a certain lock. The lock data can be used for statistical analyses. An example includes the number of vessels per locking cycle or the entering time or speed. Also, each locking cycle can be assessed and visualised individually or for a desired time span.
When the data is used for the validation of a simulation model, a large data set is needed to give reliable results. After all there can be large outliers and the performance of the lock is dependent on human interaction, the lock operator and the vessel’s captain. A combination of the AIS based data with other additional data can expand the method.
In conclusion, a highly suitable method was found that enables to use AIS data for the validation of a simulation model of a lock. The method is sufficient for most applications of a lock simulation model, despite being limited to just the movement of the vessels. However, when an accurate simulation of a lock phase like the closing of the gate is desired, other data sources might be more suitable. While this research has a focus on the comparison of the collected data to a lock simulation, the data can also be used for a statistical analysis of the lock when looking at fleet composition, arrival rates and stopping distances.

As a result of the need for higher productivity ship-to-shore container cranes, seven concepts are composed that can simultaneously transfer 4 Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit containers. All concept can be built on a standard ship-to-shore crane structure. These concepts are based on working principles found in (patent) literature. The concepts are compared based on multiple objectives, after which one concept is chosen to realize a concept design. A ship-to-shore crane with two trolleys turns out to be the most suitable concept. The two trolleys consist of a rope towed trolley and a semi rope trolley, which are combined with a continuous rope support system. The design of the trolleys is based on an existing trolley. For all wire ropes to run adjacently, the sheave diameters and positions on both trolleys deviate from the existing trolley. The sheave positions have consequences for the trolley frame design. To validate the adjusted trolley frames, a finite element analysis is performed.

Hydrogen is expected to be a significant force in this transition. Hydrogen can be produced using technologies that do not emit CO2 or other greenhouse gasses (“green H2”). Hydrogen can be transported in big quantities and long distances unlike electricity and can play the role of a clean fuel. The emerging hydrogen economy, which will be accompanied by the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels, will significantly impact ports around the world. Ports can and should play a pivotal role in this “energy revolution”. Apart from import and export services, ports often include industrial clusters, they provide servicing and refuelling to visiting vessels and connect major trade routes.

This study aims at understanding and providing insights on challenges that the above-explained transition will create in a port environment focusing on hydrogen. Firstly, a favourable policy environment for hydrogen projects in the ports and maritime sector is a key topic that this study will address. This is included as a conclusion in many reports and port conferences. Secondly, the questions related to terminal planning and area requirements of hydrogen terminals remain unanswered as large scale hydrogen projects do not exist yet -with many being under development-, and thus this research will try to shed light on area calculations of hydrogen terminals. Thirdly, and lastly, terminals operators, investors and policy makers will need to make decisions on the preferred hydrogen carrier and location for various hydrogen projects that will be developed in the near future. Therefore, a method of comparison of different alternatives is required, especially when terminals are planned next to existing liquid bulk terminals.

The purpose of this report is to design a wave energy converter, in particular a U-oscillating water column (U-OWC), to maximize energy conversion in the low wave energy environment of Gwadar, Pakistan. At present Pakistan’s 1000km coastline is largely undeveloped and the county is devoid of any wave energy harnessing devices or studies. However, recent years have seen an influx of Chinese investment being made under the China-Pakistan economic corridor agreement, which is stimulus for the near future construction of a large rubble mound breakwater to shelter an assistance vessel basin in the city of Gwadar.

Typically, a WEC is not feasible in low incident wave energy environments because the economic return from minimal energy generation cannot offset the capital cost of the structure. However, the opportunity in Gwadar is unique in the sense that a substantial investment is already envisaged for the creation of a breakwater. Therefore, it is worth investigating if re-designing this structure with vertical caissons embedded with U-OWC chambers is feasible. In this way, the structure can fulfill the dual role of sheltering the assistance vessel basin against wave attack, and produce renewable energy over its design life.

To assist with this task, existing data and methods available in literature along with numerical codes have been utilized. A 10 year SWAN hindcast has been performed, the result of which have been condensed into 60 representative design sea-states on the basis of which the U-OWC chamber geometry
and turbine configuration have been optimized. This was achieved by employing a random sampling technique to determine which combinations produce the most power and by identifying the ideal turbine
operating revolutions for each sea-state.

Next, the approximate cost of the caisson breakwater integrated with U-OWC chambers is calculated and compared against the currently proposed rubble mound design. It is expected that despite an attempt to maximize the energy generation by the device, its levelized cost of energy will be high, given
the low wave energy in the region. Nevertheless, if the design proves cheaper than its rubble mound counterpart, it goes to show that wave energy converter can be deployed in low energy environments provided an opportunity exists where they can be integrated into proposed marine structures. This will
be an important finding, considering that the majority of the global coastline is subjected to moderate to low incident wave energy, and neglected from WEC deployment considerations.

Hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water, powered by renewable energy, is seen as the key to enabling the energy transition and creating a new green economy. The result will be a trade market for low-carbon hydrogen where the trade routes will be determined by natural, technical, cost and geopolitical factors. However, to transport or store hydrogen, it must be compressed, liquefied or attached to a carrier due to its low energy density per unit volume. The challenge of this is that the transport of hydrogen is expensive and still at an exploratory stage. More research is needed into the most cost-effective opportunities for the emerging hydrogen transport supply chains. The main objective of this research is to develop a method that provides insight into the effects of hydrogen supply chain configurations on the cost price of hydrogen at the end-use location. The method should provide a better understanding of the influence of different distances and required volumes on the supply chain structure and on the type of hydrogen transport. In addition, by connecting supply chains, it should become clear how the interaction of supply chains affects the cost and throughput. Eventually, it is concluded that if the overseas distance is made variable, DBT will be the most economical option for shorter oversea distances and that for longer oversea distances MCH and ammonia will be the most cost-effective options. This tipping point is around 3500 - 4500 nm (6500 - 8400 km), depending on the volume of the supply chain, the distance to the end user and whether the supply chain configuration is centralized or decentralized. The centralized option will be more cost effective than the decentralized option for all the carriers. It can also be concluded that the cost price of each carrier will approach a some what constant value at large supply chain volumes. From the sensitivity analysis, it can be concluded that the eventual cost price is very sensitive to the WACC and to the price at which the hydrogen is purchased in the export country. In addition, the cost price of LH2 is highly sensitive to the number of storage tanks. All hydrogen carrier options are also relatively sensitive to the energy price.

Ports are located in deltas and dynamic coastal regions with large loads of fine sediment. Ports also enhance the import of marine sediment by channel and basin deepening. This results in the need for extensive maintenance and sediment management. Finding an effective and efficient sediment man­agement strategy is difficult. This research dives into the current sediment management approaches and innovations to develop a decision-­making approach to find the most suitable and sustainable sed­iment management strategy for a port.

There are several ways to optimize the sediment management in a port. With the principle to con­ sider sediment as a value resource to the port and the coastal system, rather than a waste, the sediment management hierarchy is obtained. This hierarchy consists of Prevent and Reduce, Recycle and Reuse and Disposal to find a sustainable sediment management strategy. Various Prevent and Reduce and Recycle and Reuse examples and methods are analysed in this research to identify their potential for sustainable sediment management. Furthermore, based on literature study, expert interviews and a workshop at Arcadis input is generated to propose a decision­-making approach. This research devel­ops an approach and a tool considering all the aspects of sediment management and for assessing potential strategies for sediment management in a port.

The decision­-making approach considers four steps to find a sediment management strategy. The first step, sediment management objectives, defines the objectives of the stakeholders for the strategy. In the second step, fit to case, all the sediment management methods are considered and the potential strategies are defined. The third step, assessment of potential strategies, assesses the performance of each strategy with performance indicators in the decision­-making tool. The performance indicators are selected based on the assessment categories and objectives. In the final step, meeting the objectives, the most suitable strategy is proposed and described for the long-­term sediment management in the port. This approach supports the process to optimize sediment management in a port.

The proposed decision-­making approach is applied and further developed with a case study on Porto Amboim. Porto Amboim is a port on the west coast of Angola. The port operates for the offshore industry and is currently experiencing sedimentation problems. The northward directed natural long­ shore sediment transport is interrupted by the port’s breakwater, resulting in sedimentation around the breakwater and at the lee side of the breakwater. This interruption disturbs the sediment balance in the region causing erosion problems at the down drift side of the port. The decision­making approach and tool are used to find a potential sediment management strategy for Porto Amboim. This potential strat­egy for Porto Amboim uses a sediment trap to manage the sediment in the region, ensuring sufficient port operations and restoring the sediment balance along the coast.

In order to use the approach in a generic way the results are reflected upon and a validation on the approach is performed. The reflection showed some uncertainties and limitations to the approach and tool because of the available information on the case. However, still two suitable strategies have been obtained for Porto Amboim. In the validation the approach has been applied on a second case study. This validation showed the potential for generic use of the decision-making approach and tool for sediment management. From the reflection and validation can be concluded that the available information determines the level of detail of the assessment of the potential strategies.

The main objective of this study was to explore the potential dredging and sediment management strategies to optimize sediment management in the port towards more sustainable methods, develop a decision-­making tool and apply the tool in a specific case study. From this research the following can be concluded, the decision­-making approach is considered a suitable approach to find a sediment management strategy for a port. All aspects of sediment management are considered and assessed. Therefore, further development of the tool and innovations in more aspects of sediment management are recommend. Yet, this research, the approach, and the innovative methods for sediment manage­ ment show a great potential for more sustainable maintenance strategies in the future.

Over the last decades, containerisation became the major way to transport discrete goods replacing a part of general cargo trade and facing the increasing consumer demand of developed and developing world. As a result, container terminals became an important part of a lot of ports worldwide while new technology was developed to encounter the increasing requirements for the operation of container terminals. A container terminal has a quite complicated operation as different kind of equipment and people need to cooperate under a strict timeline that does not tolerate mistakes. The optimisation of a container terminal can be achieved by adjusting different parameters concerning different areas or equipment of the terminal. In this project, the arrangement of the yard layout is analysed focusing on a straddle carrier operation. The comparison criterion is the mean maximum travelling distance that a straddle carrier needs to travel for a seaside job cycle, serving the quay cranes. Considering a rectangular layout, making reasonable assumptions and using simple mathematical relations, the travelling distance of straddle carriers from stacking blocks to the quay is modelled and a proposition to minimise this distance is developed. Then, assuming the speed of straddle carriers for the different areas they move, the mean maximum travelling time for a job cycle is determined. The theory is applied for the container terminal of the port of Thessaloniki in Greece and a rearrangement for its layout is proposed. Using simple mathematics, for a simple yard layout, it is possible to propose changes that, for the port of Thessaloniki, can decrease the travelling time of straddle carriers up to 10%. This result is very sensitive to the assumptions of the driving strategy that straddle carriers follow and to the pooling strategy that is applied for the stacking yard operation.

Over the recent years, the Dutch Continental Shelf has seen the erection of various wind farms in an effort to counter climate change by replacing fossil-based power plants. Since the majority of these sites use scour protections which have a substantial impact on the surroundings, the Dutch government increasingly stimulates and requires ecological enhancement of such structures in order to restore the natural habitat and maintain the marine ecosystem of the North Sea. Oyster enhancement has been one of the methods used for the ecological enhancement of offshore wind farm scour protections. However, studies report that a successful structure for the harbouring of an oyster population is yet to be developed. Existing structures were found to be unstable or unable to provide a suitable habitat for the oysters (Bouma, Belze, et al., 2013; Stokes et al., 2012). The study at hand aims to develop a successful design for oyster broodstock structures for nature enhancement in offshore wind farms. It was conducted for Van Oord as part of project Ecoscour. To establish design criteria for the oyster broodstock structures, oyster habitats and the Borssele V site were analysed and a brainstorm session with partners from project Ecoscour was set up. The final criteria concerned: ecology; structural integrity; commissioning & construction; and monitoring. The design criteria were used to develop several viable structure designs. In order to rapidly assess the strength and stability of potential designs, a Python-based open source tool was built named Econstruct. With this tool, geometries can easily be evaluated under various influences, accounting for the effect of marine fouling. This could be used for quick investigations of loads, stability and structural integrity. The Econstruct tool was validated and analysed for sensitivity for the input parameters, of which the input radius and current velocity had the highest influence on stability. Using the environmental input parameters that hold for the Borssele V wind farm, a terraced design was proposed. After consultation with the manufacturer of the structure, D & M engineers, this proposal was altered to account for manufacturing limitations. The definitive design was evaluated using the Econstruct tool and found to be stable. It was then manufactured, and ultimately placed in Borssele V in October 2020. Several recommendations are made for future research and the design of ecological enhancement structures for offshore wind farms. Most importantly, the Econstruct open source tool can be used in the future for the design of structures for other ecological enhancement projects such as coral reef restorations.

An ongoing trend of increased environmental awareness and a corresponding willingness to combat climate change influences the dredging industry. Policy developments that encourage contractors to work more sustainable and shifting client demands indicate that the amount of emitted CO2 is becoming an increasingly significant incentive for tender assessment. To increase the probability of winning a tender and make a profit, Van Oord needs to be able to quantify the emitted CO2 during both the engineering phase and the execution phase.

The world population is growing and therewith facing a lot of problems, such as a growing energy demand and climate change. These problems force society to make a transition, from a system driven by fossil raw materials to a sustainability-based system. Hydrogen can play a part in shifting from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy flows, as a renewable energy carrier, to decrease the CO2 emissions. However, the major obstacle of hydrogen use is the low volumetric energy density at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Therefore, hydrogen must be compressed, liquefied or attached to a carrier to use it for storage or transportation purposes. The most cost-effective method to import hydrogen is yet unknown, and therefore a better understanding of the costs of the hydrogen supply chains are essential. The objective of this research is to: (1) understand the different costs for each individual element of the supply chain, (2) design a hydrogen supply chain that integrates the individual elements into a single framework to be able to compare the different carriers to each other and (3) create a more profound perspective on the investment decisions for a hydrogen import terminal. A case study for the port of Rotterdam is performed to validate the operation of the general supply chain for a specific case, resulting in a more in-depth understanding of the import terminal. This research covers four hydrogen carriers: ammonia, MCH, liquid- and gaseous hydrogen. The answer for objective one, is that for ammonia and MCH the import terminal costs are the highest, for liquid hydrogen the conversion plant costs and for gaseous hydrogen the transport costs. The hydrogen costs for ammonia, MCH and liquid hydrogen decreases as long as the demand increases, up until an amount of 500,000 t/y, whereby for gaseous hydrogen this decline holds for values beyond this amount as well. In general, for distances up to 3,500 nm gaseous hydrogen is preferred and for intermediate to long distance ammonia. The discrepancy in costs between ammonia, MCH and liquid hydrogen is almost negligible. Regarding the second objective, it can be stated that it makes no difference when choosing one carrier, or the other at ammonia, MCH and liquid hydrogen for intermediate to long distances. To conclude, the optimal hydrogen import supply chain for the estimated demand of Rotterdam is obtained from gaseous hydrogen exported from Tunisia with a cost price of 2.3 €/kg.

Inland waterway transport (IWT) is one of the three main modalities for inland transport of dry, liquid and containerized cargo. As IWT performs well on cost-competitiveness, environmental friendliness, and congestion-related issues, authorities strive to shift freight transport from road to water. Inland waterway connections, however, are vulnerable to the growing impact of climate change. A combination of higher temperatures and more extreme seasonal differences in precipitation is expected to increasingly impact river discharge in the future. In summer, this will result in low water events happening more frequent and more intense. The effects of climate change on IWT could result in a reduced annual transport capacity, thereby weakening the reputation of IWT and increasing the costs of cargo shipment. The objective of this research is to provide more insight into the consequences of climate change-induced low discharges on the performance of IWT and to assist in making justified adaptation decisions. During this research, an IWT performance model has been developed that is capable of studying the capacity and vulnerability of the inland waterway system to low water depths, and simultaneously can be used to propose measures to strengthen the position of IWT. To assess the quality of the logistic simulations, the model has successfully been subjected to a number of validity tests. Consequently, the model was calibrated on two parameters that have a high uncertainty and a significant impact on the simulation. After calibration, the model shows correlation coefficients of r=0.794 and r=0.921 so that it can be concluded that the results of the IWT performance model are relatively accurate with reality. Daily projections of the water depth on the Rhine are obtained by extrapolation of the representative, dry year 1976 with two climate scenarios to the year 2050. The water depths encountered have been compared to the base scenario. To put into perspective these impacts, a model run for the reference scenario of 2018 has been incorporated in the comparison. It follows from this thesis that low discharges, in combination with navigational restrictions, could cause substantial losses for the IWT in 2050 in terms of transported cargo and transport costs. Following from literature, the accurate modelling of IWT should include various local effects that follow from regulations, fleet composition or waterway characteristics. This research is the first study on the impact of low water depths on the IWT performance that does not take the load factor as the only variable but that includes other network parameters as the active fleet size and the number of trips to provide a comprehensive picture of the IWT performance in periods of low discharge.

The largest part of the European ports are engaged into addressing proactively environmental and societal issues in order to achieve an always more sustainable development. However, there are several sources that indicate that gaps and barriers exist which impede the sustainable development of many Mediterranean ports. In order to deal with the problems that are identified in ports and specifically in container terminals, which are closely related to their sustainable performance, a framework is developed. The creation of the Port Sustainability Assessment Framework (PSAF) allows the comparison of the current state of terminals with the desired state based on specific sustainability themes and consequently, evaluates their performance. Port sustainability is also approached by means of stakeholders' views and insights, throughout a questionnaire. The application of the framework in the case studies of Piraeus and Livorno, two container terminals of different sizes and challenges but both located in the Mediterranean area, proves that the concept of sustainability in the two container terminal case studies has not yet been embedded in the planning and operational phase as their sustainable performance is low. Another aspect that this master thesis addresses is the need to extend the Port of the Future Serious Game (PoFSG) in order to include in a realistic way port-city future developments and their potential impacts on the environment and the society, as well as to facilitate stakeholder engagement. Based on the results of the sustainability assessment, several weaknesses of the PoFSG are identified and tools are developed which can be useful for extending the PoFSG. The focus is mostly drawn upon two specific aspects: the scoring system of the measures' performance on “People, Planet and Profit” and the inclusion of relevant sustainability measures. Additionally, more general recommendations are made for the other aspects of the PoFSG.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is a country in Southeast Asia with a population close to 60 million people, which suffers from underdeveloped infrastructure. With the change of government and restoration of democracy starting from 2011, policy reforms are anticipated leading to large-scale economic development and growth. This growth is expected to result in rapidly increasing trade volumes. Myanmar’s maritime infrastructure needs upgrades: existing ports are mainly up-river, have limited draught and need continuous dredging. Currently, six deep sea port projects are being planned, but it is not known whether these sites have been selected based on rational, commercial and technical considerations or on (geo)political interests from the past. If these sites have been selected based on outdated political considerations, rather than commercial, well-grounded and sustainable development, they may struggle to obtain finances and support. Especially in the past, port sites were often allocated based on (geo)political considerations. However, because site selection is critical to port development and the long-term success and growth of a port, research into optimum and sustainable site selection is of significant value. The research objective is development of a strategy for deep sea port site selection and port development in Myanmar, by developing, validating and applying a framework for sustainable site selection, integrating a stakeholder-inclusive approach and ecosystem services. This framework is developed based on literature and desk study, and a comprehensive case study conducted in Myanmar. The strategy elaborates upon the optimum site selection (process), conceptual lay-outs and biggest challenges. Following the developed two-step site selection process, a short list with the sites Pathein, Yangon, Mawlamyine and Dawei was obtained. By means of a Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis and a cluster-based ranking, Mawlamyine and Yangon ended first. Yangon seems like a logical choice for deep sea port development, as it is the economic center of the country with the best hinterland connectivity. Despite pressure from stakeholders, it is concluded that Yangon is not a suitable location for deep sea port development because of physical restraints. However, it is a crucial port and must be part of the strategy. Yangon and Thilawa port should maintain and strengthen their current activities, and this appears best in combination with a deep sea port near Kalegauk Island (near Mawlamyine), which is connected with a high-quality road connection to Thailand and the Greater Mekong Subregion. Besides, this site offers many opportunities with respect to Ecosystem Services, by using Ecosystem-Based design principles. This port will accommodate the large Post-Panamax vessels and Yangon and its hinterland will be connected to it by sea, road and rail. Yangon port functions as a feeder port or extended gateway in this combination. This combination of ports can for instance be found in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Besides the combination Kalegauk Island and Yangon, a combination of Pathein (Near Nga Yoke Kaung) and Yangon may be a possible port combination. However, this needs additional research.

The aim of the Building with Nature (BwN) design philosophy is to improve on a traditional approach for infrastructural projects by utilising natural processes to create benefits for society and nature. In a fast-changing world where climate action is becoming increasingly important, there is need for an innovative approach in large infrastructural projects where nature is not considered as an obstacle, but stimulated and used in a sustainable way. The BwN design philosophy offers the opportunity to realize this improvement. This research first aimed to create an evaluation framework of (international) standards and goals to identify opportunities for improvement of a port masterplan and to get a better understanding of the need for sustainable port development. Included in this evaluation framework are, amongst others, the Port Vision2030, the Corporate Social Responsibility statement and the international strategy of the Port of Rotterdam (PoR). On the basis of these visions and standards, the corporate governance of the PoR was tested by conducting an informal opinion poll amongst twenty colleagues at the PoR (International, Environmental Management and Port Development). A practical example of a traditional port development project that can be improved by applying BwN is the Kuala Tanjung (KT) Port-Industrial complex at Sumatra, in Indonesia. This port development project is still in its initiation phase where a first master plan is proposed. Since the goal of the Indonesian government is to build a world-class port, international and sustainable standards apply. This project was used as a case to identify opportunities to improve a traditional master plan by applying a BwN approach. The evaluation framework was applied to the current master plan of KT to check whether this project meets the requirements for international port development, in particular from a nature/social point of view. It is concluded that the current design mainly focuses on the functional requirements of the port, proposing mitigation and compensation measures against the negative social and environmental impact of the port development. The BwN philosophy, on the other hand, prescribes a thorough understanding of the natural system emphasizing on the positive effects of the project for stakeholders and nature, to create a win-win solution. After applying the general evaluation framework, it became clear what aspects in the current master plan should be improved. A literature study of applied BwN solutions resulted in an onshore and offshore alternative for the port development including several BwN solutions. Together with experts involved in the KT project, it is concluded that the onshore alternative is more realistic (from a functional point of view), while still offering opportunities for applying the BwN philosophy. In the current natural system of KT the mangroves offer various important ecosystem services. In addition, it is concluded that the breakwaters proposed by the current master plan form a large part of the CAPEX. Consequently, a solution is proposed where mangroves are integrated in the design to attenuate waves and enhance nature at the same time. To test whether this BwN solution is realistic, a preliminary feasibility study has been executed. The results of a mangrove coastal protection program at Demak (Java, Indonesia) and various scientific articles (Ecoshape BwN Guidelines, 2018) about rehabilitation programs for mangroves have been used to set up a general checklist with habitat requirements for mangroves. These requirements were compared with the local conditions at KT and recommendations for creating these conditions at the breakwater location were given. According to the checklist, the site at KT appeared to be suitable for mangrove establishment. This resulted in preliminary mangrove breakwater designs for various depths. In addition, the effect of the BwN solution on the phasing of the adapted master plan was determined, rough cost estimates were made and the implementation risks were identified. According to these conditions, the mangrove-based breakwater appeared to be technically feasible for the first 2000 m of the shallow part of the south-eastern breakwater at KT. Finally, the evaluation framework was applied again to check if the current master plan of KT has been improved (read: less dilemmas occurring from deviating standards in Indonesia) and a general advice is given on the applicability of the selected BwN solution to other ports in Indonesia and (sub)tropical zones of the Asia Pacific region.

Due to the environmental awareness of the last decades, the concept of Green Port is introduced and used regularly. Nevertheless, an agreed-upon definition does not exist, leading to the rise of questions about what they are and how to develop them. For that reason, the aim of this research is to analyze and define what a Green Port is and to compare it with a traditional port, in order to develop a clearly-defined, specific complete and timeless methodology to facilitate port planners to get to a sustainable solution. The purpose is that the proposed methodology covers all phases of development, from planning to operation, not only to minimize but to avoid impacts and to maximize benefits. A case study is used to refine it, with the objective of making it applicable to other port projects around the world.
By analyzing the existing varied definitions for Green Ports and the current sustainable practices in ports around the world, a definition of a Green Port is proposed, through which a comparison between these ports and traditional ports can be made, optimized with the personal reflection after the elaboration of the proposed methodology. This methodology for developing a greenfield Green Port, covering the stages of planning, design, construction and operation (and management) is based on several top green philosophies in which all criteria that contribute to any green goal are based on. These criteria can be evaluated by means of a proposed evaluation framework, giving a final score to get an insight on how green the port is, which is tested and refined with a case study for the planning phase.
As a conclusion of the case study application, several implementation issues of Green Ports have been identified and some possible solutions for the success of the sustainable option are proposed, for which a general shift in mentality is required.

As an Indonesian national strategic project, the Port of Kuala Tanjung draws significant attention at national and international level. Considering the semi-greenfield nature of the port, the diverse set of stakeholders, and the prevailing disruptive trends in the world port business enabled mainly by digitalization and energy transition, a robust 1st phase port layout is required to kick-start the project and guarantee the overall sustainability of the port development. This thesis is conducted on the Port of Rotterdam Authority (PoRA) which is a part of the Joint Venture company that is responsible in developing the Port of Kuala Tanjung. The author would like to clearly state that while this study is conducted during the author's internship at Port of Rotterdam, the views expressed in this paper are those of the author alone and not the Port of Rotterdam Authority..

The objective of this research is to develop an adaptive port masterplan along with its robust 1st phase layout which is self-sustainable and provide catalyzing effect for the next stage of development. A modified Adaptive Port Planning (APP) framework will be used as the main methodology in this research. In addition, the United Nation Sustainable Goals is being used as a guiding principle in planning the port. A combination of a literature review and interviews with experts are used to both identify the sources of the uncertain and disruptive trends mentioned above and also to propose adaptation strategies.

As a conclusion, an adaptive port masterplan has been developed. A circular economic concept combined with industrial port complex model has been applied to the port to incorporate self-sustainability and catalyzing effect element into the port. To validate the research products, series of interviews and FGD has been conducted with Port of Rotterdam Authority experts.