Editing Nieuwe Waterweg

{{Short description|Ship canal in the Netherlands}}
{{coord|51|56|31|N|4|11|29|E|region:NL_type:river|display=title}}
{{Infobox river
| name               = Nieuwe Waterweg
| name_native        = 
| name_native_lang   = 
| name_other         = New Waterway
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Maeslantkering.jpg
| image_size         = 230px
| image_caption      = 
| map                = Location Nieuwe Waterweg.PNG
| map_size           = 230px
| map_caption        = Location of Nieuwe Waterweg (including Het Scheur) in dark blue.
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_map_size   = 
| pushpin_map_caption= 
<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = [[Netherlands]]
| subdivision_type2  = Province
| subdivision_name2  = [[South Holland]]
| subdivision_type3  = 
| subdivision_name3  = 
| subdivision_type4  = 
| subdivision_name4  = 
| subdivision_type5  = 
| subdivision_name5  = 
<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} 
| width_min          = 
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| depth_min          = 
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| depth_max          = 
| discharge1_location= 
| discharge1_min     = 
| discharge1_avg     = 
| discharge1_max     = 
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = [[Nieuwe Maas]]
| source1_location   = Maassluis
| source1_coordinates= 
| source1_elevation  = 
| mouth              = [[Maasmond]]
| mouth_location     = [[Hook of Holland]]
| mouth_coordinates  = 
| mouth_elevation    = 
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}}

The '''Nieuwe Waterweg''' ("New Waterway") is a [[ship canal]] in the [[Netherlands]] from [[Scheur|het Scheur]] (a branch of the [[Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta]]) west of the [[town]] of [[Maassluis]] to the [[North Sea]] at [[Hook of Holland]]: the [[#Maasmon|Maasmond]], where the Nieuwe Waterweg connects to the [[Eurogeul#Maasgeul|Maasgeul]]. It is the artificial mouth of the river Rhine.

The Nieuwe Waterweg, which opened in 1872 and has a length of approximately {{convert|20.5|km}}, was constructed to keep the city and [[port of Rotterdam]] accessible to seafaring [[Ship|vessels]] as the natural Meuse-Rhine branches silted up.<ref name="rws">Website Rijkswaterstaat about [http://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/water/feiten_en_cijfers/vaarwegenoverzicht/nieuwe_waterweg/index.aspx Nieuwe Waterweg], visited: 24 April 2012</ref> The Waterway is a busy shipping route since it is the primary access to one of the busiest ports in the world, the [[Port of Rotterdam]]. At the entrance to the sea, a flood protection system called [[Maeslantkering]] has been installed (completed in 1997). There are no bridges or tunnels across the Nieuwe Waterweg.

==History==
[[Image:RMSDeltaNorth.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Satellite image of the northwest part of the Rhine-Meuse delta showing the Nieuwe Waterweg (t).]]
[[Image:Maassluis Nieuwe waterweg.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Nieuwe Waterweg]]
By the middle of the 19th century, Rotterdam was already one of the largest port cities in the world, mainly because of transshipment of goods from Germany to Great Britain. The increase in shipping traffic created a capacity problem: there were too many branches in the river delta, making the port difficult to reach.

In 1863, a law was passed that allowed for the provision of a new canal for large ocean-going ships from Rotterdam to the North Sea. [[Hydraulic engineering|Hydraulic engineer]] [[Pieter Caland]] was commissioned to design a canal cutting through the "Hook of Holland” and to extend the Mouth of Rhine to the sea. The designs for this were already done back in 1731 by [[Nicolaas Kruik|Nicolaas Samuelsz Cruquius]] but the implementation could no longer be postponed to prevent the decline of the harbour of Rotterdam.

Construction began on 31 October 1863. The first phase consisted of the expropriation of farm lands from [[Rozenburg]] to [[Hook of Holland]].

During the second phase two dikes were built parallel to each other, which took 2 years. Caland proposed to extend the dikes 2&nbsp;km into the sea to disrupt the coastal sea currents and decrease silt deposits in the shipping lane.

Upon the completion of the dikes, the third phase began by the digging of the actual waterway. This began on 31 October 1866 and was completed three years later. The large amounts of removed soil were in turn used to reinforce other dams and dikes.

The last phase consisted of the removal of the dam separating the new waterway from the sea and river. In 1872, the Nieuwe Waterweg was completed and Rotterdam was easily accessible.

Because of the currents and erosion, the shipping lane has been widened somewhat. Yet because of the [[Draft (hull)|draft]] of today's [[supertanker]]s, it needs to be dredged constantly.

In 1997, the last part of the [[Delta Works]], the [[Maeslantkering]], was put in operation near the mouth of the Nieuwe Waterweg. This storm surge barrier protects Rotterdam against north westerly [[Beaufort scale|Beaufort]] Force 10 to 12 storms.

==Current situation==
The Nieuwe Waterweg gives the Port of Rotterdam its deep-water access to the North Sea. From Hook of Holland it stretches for approximately {{convert|20.5|km}} where the waterway continues as the [[Nieuwe Maas]]. The very first Nieuwe Waterweg—a breach through the dunes at Hook of Holland—was only {{convert|4.3|km}} long, but in around 1877 the channel was made much larger and wider and the current Nieuwe Waterweg was created. Currently the width of the channel is between {{convert|480|and|675|m}} and it is dredged to a depth of {{convert|14.5|–|16|m}} below [[Amsterdam Ordnance Datum]].<ref name="rws"/>

It is this channel, together with the dredged channels in the North Sea, Maasgeul and [[Eurogeul]], that allows ships like the [[MS Berge Stahl|MS ''Berge Stahl'']] and [[MV Vale Rio de Janeiro|MV ''Vale Rio de Janeiro'']] (both with a draught of 23 meters) to enter [[Europoort]].<ref>YouTube video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtyiNYjVDIE MV Vale RdJ arrives in Rotterdam], watched: 14 April 2012</ref>

The Dutch government agency [[Rijkswaterstaat]] is responsible for maintaining the channel.

==Maasmond==
The point where the Nieuwe Waterweg enters into the North Sea, between [[Hook of Holland]] on the north bank and the [[Maasvlakte]] to the south, is called the Maasmond. It is marked with two navigation light-towers called the Paddestoelen ("mushrooms"). The Nieuwe Waterweg connects, in the North Sea, to the [[Eurogeul#Maasgeul|Maasgeul]].<ref name="rws"/> This dredged channel in the North Sea is being widened to {{convert|840|m}} to facilitate the largest container vessels for the new [[Maasvlakte 2]] that opened in 2013.<ref>Dredging Today: [http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2012/02/19/the-netherlands-ministry-expands-maasgeul/ Dutch ministry expands Maasgeul], 19 February 2012. Visited: 24 April 2012</ref>

==Sources and references==
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{{Reflist}}

{{Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta}}

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[[Category:Canals in the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Canals in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta]]
[[Category:Canals in South Holland]]
[[Category:Canals opened in 1872]]
[[Category:Estuaries of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Port of Rotterdam]]