Princess Beatrix Lock

1,080 boats passed through the extended Princess Beatrix lock near Nieuwegein in a single month. The double doors are used randomly but, if two ships measuring 135 metres in length arrive at the same time, the two outer doors are used to lock the ships simultaneously. We refer to this as XL locking. If one of the lock doors malfunctions, then the second door can simply be used to continue locking activities. This means shippers barely experience hold-ups and waiting times. And that helps to boost our economy. 

Princess Beatrix Lock

1,080 boats passed through the extended Princess Beatrix lock near Nieuwegein in a single month. The double doors are used randomly but, if two ships measuring 135 metres in length arrive at the same time, the two outer doors are used to lock the ships simultaneously. We refer to this as XL locking. If one of the lock doors malfunctions, then the second door can simply be used to continue locking activities. This means shippers barely experience hold-ups and waiting times. And that helps to boost our economy. 

Musical cornerstones from the largest inland waterway lock

LudoWic: “A spheric start that features rhythmic ticking; with each tick representing one ship. And you hear exactly 1,080 ship pass through the lock. CLO (closure-levelling-opening) data shows how long a ship actually spends inside the lock. The first four times that the lock was opened resulted in the following CLO data: 150 - 133 - 144 - 190. I then converted these numbers into Hertz. And these four tones have become the musical cornerstones of the whole track. It’s like a ‘doorbell-effect’. It makes you feel like you’re actually entering the lock.” 

Musical cornerstones from the largest inland waterway lock

LudoWic: “A spheric start that features rhythmic ticking; with each tick representing one ship. And you hear exactly 1,080 ship pass through the lock. CLO (closure-levelling-opening) data shows how long a ship actually spends inside the lock. The first four times that the lock was opened resulted in the following CLO data: 150 - 133 - 144 - 190. I then converted these numbers into Hertz. And these four tones have become the musical cornerstones of the whole track. It’s like a ‘doorbell-effect’. It makes you feel like you’re actually entering the lock.” 
Liselore van Groenestijn, work planner:
“Availability; it’s something the shipping industry, companies and the Dutch economy all rely on. No hold-ups and no waiting times. Shippers prefer to arrive at high water because travelling with the tide requires less energy and is thus more sustainable. And ships can pass through the lock smoothly, which means all energy-related savings are retained.” 

Perfect maintenance planning 
“The lock is redundant. Certain components have back-ups, and are managed using a special algorithm. The lock thus continues to function effectively, should a single component fail. In addition, we use sensors to continuously monitor the condition of the lock. This also makes it possible to better predict the need for maintenance. If we need to perform maintenance, we are able to schedule it for the best moment in time.” 

“The lock will soon become energy neutral thanks to, for example, solar panels. We have also made the surroundings of the lock more appealing by installing cycle paths and benches where people can enjoy everything that goes on around the lock.”