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Van Oord Group (The Netherlands)

Aannemings Maatschappij van Oord

image by Jarig Bakker, 22 May 2006

Dredging V.O.2
ACZ Marine Contractors - old(?) flag
Dredging VO 2 International
van Oord, Utrecht

See also:

van Oord Group

Very different from (and much larger than) the recently treated ‘Van Oord Handel en Transport’ company at Venray, the Van Oord dredging concern has a very informative website (select English version):
The head office is at Rotterdam; there are branch offices around the world (it should be noted that Mijnster is among them).
Quote from ‘Profile’ section:
“Van Oord is a dredging and marine contracting company (which, jm) arose out of the merger of Ballast Ham Dredging with Van Oord Groep. We are dredging and marine contractors in heart and soul with a tradition of over a century of successful projects. (…) We offer our clients solutions to their marine engineering problems while managing the entire process from design to completion. Van Oord employs some 2,600 well-trained professionals and a large state-of-the-art fleet. Van Oord specialises in dredging, marine construction, offshore and earthmoving projects. In these areas we are a world-class player."

A further quote from the ‘History’ section will help to put the above into perspective:
“Govert van Oord set up his own company as early as 1868. One hundred years ago, dredgers Adriaan Volker and Hollandsche Aanneming Maatschappij were leading companies. In that same period, NV Amsterdamse Ballast played a significant role in the field of sand dredging and the execution of marine engineering works. What all of these companies had in common, was their entrepreneurial spirit and technical ingenuity. Market and technical developments slowly brought these companies together.”

It would be best to explore ‘Archive’ and ‘Activities’ to get an idea of Van Oord’s range, geographical as well as technical – there is simply too much to mention here. In any case the firm's prime activity is dredging (for all sorts of purposes: land reclamation, waterworks, harbour extension, etc.). Offshore installations are the area of Mammoet Van Oord at Gorinchem.
Van Oord’s fleet consists of about 350 units (not all of these are vessels, of course) and comprises trailing suction hopper dredges, cutter suction dredgers, water injection dredgers, flexible fall pipe vessels, side stone dumping vessels and – last but not least – vertical drain installations. (All these and more are painstakingly described and illustrated on the site, videos included. Very instructive to a landlubber such as me!)

But to get to the house flag – it is shown at the top (far right) of the Van Oord webpages and can be seen hoisted in front of the head office (‘Contact us’ section). Resembling the logo on the second Van Oord flag at FOTW-ws, ACZ Marine Contractors, it is white with a large orange triangle in the fly, presenting its slanting side to a blue wave starting from the hoist.
The flag can be seen in use on the ‘Panter’ (about 2/3 down the page) - the real flags also bear the company name in white letters.
Jan Mertens, 1 May 2006

Dredging V.O.2

image by Jarig Bakker, 21 Dec 2005

I just found in Loughran's "A Survey of Mercantile Houseflags & Funnels", 1979, an image of the houseflag of Dredging V.O.2 N.V., Urecht, for which Loughran produced this description:
"Dredging V.O.2., of Utrecht, a combination of Van Oord Dredging and Van Ommeren interests, use an emblem which is evocative of a grab, dredging spoil from the sea bed.".
Jarig Bakker, 21 Dec 2005

ACZ Marine Contractors

image by Jarig Bakker, 17 Nov 2005

ACZ Marine Contractors, Gorinchem - Divided by vertical slanting line; at hoist horizontal stripes of green and blue; a white fly charged with the square firm's logo.
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995.
Jarig Bakker, 17 Nov 2005

Judging from the logo, the company appears now to be known as Van Oord, and specializes in dredging.
When I looked at the flag, I was wondering if the vertical line and emblem might be a representation of the funnel on the flag.
Phil Nelson, 17 Nov 2005

ACZ old (?) flag

image by Jarig Bakker, 17 Nov 2005

marktplaats.nl is a Dutch division of ebay, where quite a few flags are on offer. Not a lot of information is available there, however. They have now on offer an ACZ flag. This is evidently a flag of the same company we have: ACZ Marine Contractors, Gorinchem, a dredging firm, part of the Van Oord group.
The marktplaats-flag is nearly identical to the logo in the fly of the FOTW-flag, but the green fly-part is extended and is charged with black letters 'a' and 'z', with in between a larger white 'C'. Perhaps this was the original of all van Oord flags, but it sure makes this an interesting flag-family.
Jarig Bakker, 1 Nov 2006

The flag shown as "ACZ old (?) flag" is that of Aannemers Combinatie Zinkwerken B.V. which was formed in 1973 and changed name 1983 to ACZ Marine Contractors B.V. It is shown by Loughran 1979 who details the design as representing a wave breaking against a black sky. Minus the letters it became a panel on the new flag shown above it following the name change. ACZ appears to have become part of the Van Oord Groep around 1990.
Neale Rosanoski, 29 Nov 2008

Dredging VO 2 International

image by Jarig Bakker, 21 Dec 2005

Dredging VO 2 International, Odijk - Divided by vertical slanting line; at hoist horizontal stripes of green and blue; a white fly charged with the firm's logo.
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995.
Jarig Bakker, 21 Dec 2005

van Oord, Utrecht

image by Jarig Bakker, 17 Nov 2005

Aannemings Maatschappij van Oord Utrecht B.V., Utrecht - Divided by vertical slanting line; at hoist horizontal stripes of green and blue; a white fly charged with the square firm's logo.
(per hoist-diagonal white over red is the flag of Utrecht city)
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995.
Jarig Bakker, 17 Nov 2005