What Dredge Partners will do for you

Equipment owners close high-value dredging projects with specialized tendering, contract management, and project delivery expertise without hiring permanent staff.

  • Win More Dredging Tenders
  • Increase Equipment Utilisation
  • Deliver On Schedule
Schedule a Consultation Learn how →

Three Barriers Block Equipment Owners from Consistent Tender Wins

The gap between having good equipment and winning profitable work is expertise. Hiring it full-time is expensive.

01

Tender Credibility Gap

Your production estimates get flagged as optimistic. Cost schedules don't match site conditions. Soil samples aren't analyzed. Technical proposals get form-rejected before anyone reads the method statement. Port authorities and contractors see "another equipment owner guessing."

Impact: Lost bids. Tenders won by competitors with better paperwork, not better equipment.

02

Margin Leakage in Execution

Site conditions change on Day 3. Your team documents them loosely. By Day 45, nobody can prove what changed or calculate the cost impact per FIDIC Clause 13. The variation becomes a post-completion dispute, not a claim. Engineers side with the contractor on ambiguity.

Impact: 5-15% margin erosion per project. Zero dispute wins. Relationship damage that costs future work.

03

No Dedicated Project Capacity

Your operations team manages the vessel. Finance manages budgets. Nobody owns the tender package. Nobody tracks daily FIDIC compliance. You cannot afford permanent senior staff. You cannot hire a project manager on 4 weeks' notice who knows FIDIC and dredging.

Impact: Equipment sits idle between bids. Good tenders rejected for incomplete submissions. Projects bid but undersupported in execution.

Three Specific Skills That Close the Gaps

Not generic consulting. Earned expertise from 35+ years running equipment and delivering projects.

Production Rate Modeling from Soil Conditions

We build production estimates from actual soil analysis, not industry benchmarks or optimistic assumptions. Soil samples → realistic rates → cost schedules that hold under tender scrutiny. FIDIC-ready tender documents, complete and defensible.

Result: Bids win on technical merit. No post-award cost surprises. Tender credibility locked in.

FIDIC Clause 13 Variation Capture

Early Warning Notices filed on Day 1 of site condition change. Every variation photographed, documented, calculated per FIDIC contract language. Assessments completed during execution, not fought at completion. Claims formatted and ready for Engineer review.

Result: Variations approved in full. Disputes prevented. Margin protected from Day 1 to handover.

Real-Time Project Controls

Senior personnel on-site or remote. Daily method statement compliance. Real-time cost and schedule tracking. Earned-value reporting. Contractor instruction authority backed by contractual right. Live accountability, not retrospective blame.

Result: Projects delivered to time and cost. Contractors know we're watching. Quality held to spec.

Why Equipment Owners Trust Dredge Partners

60 years combined founder experience. 100+ projects delivered and managed. Dredging-only focus since day one.

60+
Years Combined Dredging Experience

Daan: 35 years (Ballast Nedam superintendent through Business Manager, now advisory practice). Barry: 25+ years (Van Oord, Gulf Cobla, Jebsen & Jessen, Dutch Maritime). Both remain actively engaged in dredging work, not retired from the field.

100+
Dredging Projects as Principals or Managers

CSD & TSHD operations. Bucket dredgers. Mechanical systems. Port deepening. Coastal protection. Infrastructure works from acquisition through commissioning.

0
Unresolved Contract Disputes

Variations captured in real-time. FIDIC clauses honored. Equipment owners protected from Day 1 to handover.

What This Means For You

You are not working with someone who read a dredging manual. You are working with people who have run dredging equipment, managed 100+ projects as principal or superintendent, signed variation claims, negotiated contract disputes, and built equipment owner relationships across four continents.

Equipment owners who worked with us stopped losing bids to form rejections. Teams that engaged us held margin through complex execution. Companies that lacked capacity now bid consistently. This is what happens when you have access to someone who has actually done the work, not discussed it.

The Team Behind Dredge Partners

25+ years of combined dredging operations experience. Built by equipment owners, for equipment owners.

Daan Seijbel

Technical Director

Netherlands-based. 35+ years dredging and maritime infrastructure. Career progression: Superintendent at Ballast Nedam → Project Manager → Area Manager UK → Business Manager (industrial extraction, waterbed remediation). Delivered North Sea Canal deepening, Rotterdam New Waterway, multiple coastal protection schemes. Led international capital works: Changi Airport Singapore, Malaysia, Denmark, Germany. Now runs independent dredging advisory practice with parallel maritime safety technology venture (Camnautic founder).

Calculations must be bulletproof. Variations captured in real-time. No surprises at project completion.

Barry van der Meulen

Managing Director

Dubai-based. 25+ years maritime consultancy and equipment owner relationships. Progression: Technical Superintendent Van Oord & Ballast Nedam (international dredging superintendent, 100+ projects across 4 continents, 1997–2008) → Technical Manager Gulf Cobla (CSD operations, 2008–2014) → Area Manager Jebsen & Jessen Offshore (Middle East business development, 2014–2016) → Managing Director Dutch Maritime (current). Specialization: tender strategy, FIDIC contract negotiation, business development, margin protection.

Equipment owners need back-office capacity that understands the real constraints and wins. We are that back office: specialist, aligned, no competing interests.

How We've Solved This For Others

Illustrative examples drawn from founder experience. Specific client details are confidential.

Tender Recovery

CSD Equipment Owner - Prequalification Failure

Failed PQ with three major port authorities (no engineering credibility). Production estimates rejected as optimistic. Cost schedules dismissed. Zero tender pipeline.

We rebuilt the PQ file: soil-specific production rates, cost schedules grounded in actual dredger capabilities, FIDIC Red Book tender template, mock engineer responses. 68-page compliant tender package ready for the next bid.

First bid after PQ recovery: approved on technical merit against three competitors. Lower price. Project won. Day-1 variation (unforecast boulder) filed as EWN, approved in full. A competitor would have treated it as a post-completion dispute.

Capacity Building

TSHD Operator - Multiple Annual Tenders

6-8 tender opportunities per year. No in-house capacity to evaluate them quickly or prepare compliant bids. Many tenders missed because response was too slow or too rough. Operations team stretched.

Monthly retainer. We monitor markets weekly, flag relevant opportunities within 48 hours, prepare draft cost schedules within the week, support final submission. Profit-share on projects delivered on time and within cost.

3 tenders bid in first year, 2 won. Bids now competitive on form and substance. Operations team focused on vessel, not paperwork. Profit-share aligned our interest with theirs. We didn't bill extra when scope expanded.

Margin Protection

Port Authority Contract - Variation Management

Awarded €8M dredging contract. Site conditions changed significantly on Week 2 (unexpected boulder field, softer clay than samples predicted). No expertise to quantify impact or claim within FIDIC. Contractor pushing back on cost increases.

We documented site conditions photographically and volumetrically from Day 1. Calculated cost and time impact per Clause 13. Filed EWN within 2 days with supporting data. Prepared variation claim formatted for Engineer review. No negotiation required.

Variation approved in full: €890k additional cost + 18-day schedule extension, documented and approved by Engineer before project restart. Avoided 6-month post-completion dispute that would have cost 20%+ of the variation value in legal fees.

Our Skin in Your Game

Three engagement models. All structured so our success is locked to yours. No time-and-materials padding.

Monthly Retainer + Win Fees

€3,500 – €6,500/month + per-tender bonus

For steady equipment owners with 2-4 tenders annually. Retainer covers standing capacity (market scanning, PQ maintenance, tender preparation infrastructure). Per-tender win fee when we close a bid. Our success fee kicks in when you win.

Covers: Market monitoring, prequalification maintenance, tender calculations, FIDIC documentation, tender submission support, post-award project setup

Fixed-Fee Project Delivery

€350–€1,050/day (scoped) or €15k–€35k/tender

For equipment owners with a known, confirmed tender. Fixed fee for one-off engagement. Covers tender preparation, FIDIC Red Book packaging, tender submission, post-award handover. No surprises. Hourly rates only if scope expands with your written approval.

Covers: Production modeling, cost schedules, FIDIC Red Book tender package, submission support, contract commencement support

Profit Share Partnership

Retainer + 20% net project profit

For major tenders where we want upside alignment. We take a stake in your project outcome. Retainer covers baseline work. Profit share (20% of net project margin) applies when the project completes and profit is realized. This only works when both parties are confident in the project's viability.

Covers: Full engagement from tender through project handover: calculations, FIDIC management, real-time variation capture, daily project oversight, margin protection

Equity / JV Partnership

Co-bid as equity partner

For major tenders where structure is the differentiator. Co-bid as equity partner in a project SPV alongside your equipment and local partners. International credibility + equipment owner protection.

Includes: Full project structuring, tendering, delivery, financial management

Is Dredge Partners a Fit For You?

You're a Good Fit If:

  • You own or operate dredging equipment (CSD, TSHD, grab dredger, backhoe)
  • You want to bid for major works contracts but lack tendering/FIDIC capability
  • You want someone who shares upside, not just bills hours
  • You're entering an unfamiliar geography and need established networks
  • You have a confirmed tender opportunity

Probably Not a Fit If:

  • You're looking for day-rate consulting with no commercial skin in the game
  • Your project is concept-stage with no active tender or financing
  • You already have senior project management in-house
  • You require a service provider with no involvement in project outcomes
  • You're a Tier 1 major contractor (our model is for equipment owners)

Have a Project? Let's Talk.

A 30-minute consultation to understand your situation and explore whether we're a fit.

Or reach out directly:

info@dredgepartners.com