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Solutions for marine pollution control, coastal and shoreline protection to effectively address environmental concerns
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Solutions for the protection of critical infrastructure and other high-security areas
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The River Maas (Meuse) is one of the Netherlands’ most vital waterways. It supports commercial shipping, recreational boating and water management infrastructure. But the Maas also poses significant challenges for water safety, especially near weirs, check dams and locks.
Over the years, many of these structures have become accident hotspots. To address these risks, Bolina Watercraft Safety Booms have been strategically installed at multiple locations along the River Maas for many years. This in partnership with our Belgian partner, AQWatt.
Bolina safety booms have been deployed at key points along the River Maas. Installations span from Maastricht in the south to Nijmegen and Arnhem in the north. Each installation is tailored to the local waterway conditions, protecting both people and watercraft at weirs and check dams, waterway locks, including intakes and other critical infrastructure.
This wide deployment plays a critical role in maintaining safe navigation and preventing accidental entry into hazardous areas.
The Maas has many weirs and check dams that regulate water flow. These structures can create hazardous conditions for both people and vessels. Accidental entry into these zones can lead to capsizing, entrapment or damage to watercraft. The risks increase during high water, poor visibility, or when a vessel loses power.
Our booms serve as strong, highly visible barriers that:
✅ Prevent unauthorized or accidental entry into hazardous areas.
✅ Guide boats safely towards designated waterway locks.
✅ Provide a last line of defense for watercraft that lose control near dangerous zones.
Each boom is engineered for strength and resilience. The core is a steel tube, providing long-term durability. Inside the tube, a 40-tons certified chain runs the full length of the boom. This adds tensile strength and anchoring reliability. Floats are spaced along the boom to ensure stability.
Between the floats, steel tubes hold grab handles for people in the water. These provide secure handholds during rescue. Safety lifelines run across the floats, which allow people to swim to safety when floats offer no grip. The floats are filled with closed-cell foam, making them virtually unsinkable. The design also prevents tampering or manual lifting of the boom.
This engineering ensures that the booms remain effective under a wide range of conditions.
In most cases, our booms perform exactly as intended, even under strong current and sustained pressure. In an incident on October 2024, however, a fully loaded barge lost control and collided with a weir on the River Maas. This location was protected by one of our safety booms. Luckily, the two people onboard were unharmed.
The Dutch Safety Board carried out an exploratory investigation into the circumstances. Extreme river conditions followed days of heavy rainfall across the region. This led to unusually high water levels and faster-than-normal currents. These factors made the vessel difficult to control and increased the impact force. The barge was unable to stop and collided with the weir. The safety boom, placed downstream for protection, was damaged during the event. It’s important to clarify: the boom did not fail under normal conditions. It became the final point of impact during an uncontrollable situation.
The safety booms include a steel-reinforced core and a 40-tons certified chain. They are engineered to withstand tough conditions, including current and pressure. However, no boom is designed to absorb direct collision from a barge in flood conditions. This event resulted from extreme environmental forces and a vessel control issue, exceeding boom design parameters. Such incidents are rare, but they show how unpredictable rivers can be. They also highlight the essential role safety booms play in reducing damage and risk. The boom absorbed part of the force and likely slowed the barge’s momentum.
This Maas project aligns closely with the Netherlands’ broader water safety goals, including the Room for the River program. Bolina Watercraft Safety Booms reduce the risk of accidents near hydraulic structures. They also help protect critical infrastructure and support emergency response readiness. Our safety booms are now a key element in the Netherlands’ long-term river safety strategy.
📷 Photo courtesy Rijkswaterstaat.
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The River Maas in the Netherlands supports commercial and recreational activities, but it also features weirs, check dams and locks that present safety risks, especially during high water, low visibility or mechanical failure. Safety booms act as a protective barrier, preventing vessels and people from entering these hazardous zones. They help reduce the risk of capsizing, entrapment and collisions. These booms are essential for protecting both the public and critical infrastructure.
Bolina Watercraft Safety Booms are installed at strategic points along the River Maas, from Maastricht to Arnhem. Their main role is to guide vessels safely through designated navigation routes. They create a clear visual and physical boundary, directing traffic toward locks and away from hazardous structures like weirs and dams. If a vessel drifts off course, the boom acts as a protective buffer, helping to prevent serious incidents and improving overall navigation safety.
Bolina safety booms are engineered for long-term use in demanding conditions. Each boom includes a central steel tube for structural strength and a certified 40-tonne steel chain for secure anchoring. The floats are filled with closed-cell foam, ensuring they remain buoyant and functional even under strong current and high pressure. This robust design delivers year-round reliability and safety performance.
Yes, Bolina safety booms are built with a tamper-resistant design. Their robust construction prevents manual lifting or interference, ensuring that the booms cannot easily be moved or disabled without authorization. Steel tubes between the floats feature integrated grab handles and lifelines for safety, all securely fixed to prevent tampering. This tamper-resistant design helps maintain the integrity of the barrier system and ensures consistent performance in all environmental conditions.
Bolina safety booms are highly durable, but are not intended to absorb direct impacts from large, heavily loaded barges under extreme river conditions. However, in real-world scenarios – such as a high-water event in October 2024 – a boom successfully slowed a drifting barge, reducing the severity of the incident. While some damage occurred, the boom played a critical role in minimizing impact and enhancing safety.
Safety booms require regular inspections and maintenance, especially after extreme weather or high-water events. Ecocoast provides comprehensive support, including routine inspection, preventative maintenance, and rapid response services to ensure continued performance and protection of waterways.
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