Jaap de Groot

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Marine, Dredging & Port Engineering Product Manager

Jaap de Groot is a senior port and marine consultant with 20 years of experience, specializing in large-scale port development and marine projects.
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Marine, Dredging & Port Engineering

Ports and coastal terminals are at the frontline of global trade, yet they face increasing pressure from climate change, growing energy transition demands and the need to operate more sustainably. Designing facilities that can withstand future uncertainties while minimizing environmental impact has become essential. At IMDC, we design and deliver marine and port infrastructure that’s ready for the challenges of tomorrow. Our multidisciplinary team combines marine, civil, and energy expertise with advanced digital and physical modelling to create climate-resilient, efficient, and future-proof solutions — from masterplanning and dredging to navigation studies and offshore energy terminals development.

We provide specialized Marine, Dredging, and Port Engineering services that enable safe, efficient, and resilient maritime infrastructure. Our experts support projects from early concept development and engineering design to operational planning and risk management, ensuring technically sound, environmentally responsible and cost-effective solutions across the full project lifecycle.

This expertise allows the Marine, Dredging and Port Engineering team to offer a complete range of services:

    1. Strategy and Masterplanning
    2. Design of Marine and Port Infrastructure
    3. Nautical and Navigation Risk Services  
    4. Dredging and Sediment Management  
    5. Project Implementation and Operational Support 

For detailed descriptions of our services—along with key references and featured projects—please refer to our Marine, Dredging and Port Engineering product sheet.

1. Strategy and Masterplanning.

We support clients from the earliest stages defining vision, feasibility and risk frameworks for new or upgraded ports and terminals: 

  • Port masterplans and layout development;
  • Feasibility and due diligence studies;
  • Site selection and investigations;
  • Port adaptation and transition to sustainable energy sources (more info);
  • Risk and environmental assessments (EIA, ESIA).

2. Design of Marine and Port Infrastructure.

We offer comprehensive conceptual, basic, and detailed design for safe, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure: We offer comprehensive conceptual, basic, and detailed design for safe, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure: 

  • Breakwater, quay wall, jetty and revetment design (more info);
  • Propeller scour and scour protection design (more info);
  • Geotechnical services;
  • Dredging and reclamation design;
  • Mooring layout and dynamic mooring analysis;
  • Navigation simulation and ship manoeuvring;
  • Immersed tunnels (more info);
  • Workability and weather downtime analysis;
  • Nature based solutions (more info).

3. Nautical and Navigation Risk Services.

Growth in vessel capacity and cargo volume comes with challenges for ports in terms of infrastructure and cargo handling equipment highlighting the urge to make ports and waterways more sustainable and suitable for co-use. IMDC provides a range of integrated services to ensure safe, efficient, and compliant port operations through advanced simulation and studies (more info):

  • Fast-time and real-time ship manoeuvring simulations;
  • Dynamic mooring and multibody analyses (e.g., LNG/FSRU);
  • Passing ship and collision risk assessments;
  • Port capacity and traffic simulations;
  • Design of navigation channels.

4. Dredging and Sediment Management.

Ever since its foundation, now already more than 40 years ago, dredging consultancy forms one of the core activities of IMDC’s business. With a team of experts, of which many have worked in the field with renowned dredging contractors, IMDC can provide valuable practical expertise to the benefits of our wide and diverse range of clients seeking support in their often multidisciplinary marine projects. While dredging sometimes is just one of the many activities to be done, it can have a huge impact on the timing and budget of the total project and therefore needs careful consideration and planning. 

The dredging expertise you will find at IMDC can cover just about any stage of your dredging project (more info):

  • Capital and maintenance dredging studies;
  • Equipment selection and optimisation;
  • Sediment plume and turbidity modelling;
  • Contaminated sediment management (PFAS, heavy metals);
  • Beneficial reuse of dredged material (reclamation, habitat creation);
  • Supervision and contract management.

5. Project Implementation and Operational Support.

We stay involved through every stage of the project, ensuring quality, compliance and efficiency. We help select reliable contractors, manage project execution, and safeguard construction standards. Once operational, we provide tools and plans that enhance performance, guide decision-making, and support long-term reliability. Environmental monitoring and adaptive strategies ensure that operations remain safe, sustainable, and aligned with regulatory expectations. More specific, we offer:

  • Tender and procurement support
  • Project and Contract management;
  • Construction supervision and owner’s engineering;
  • Design review, verification, certification;
  • Operational monitoring and decision support tools;
  • Operation and Maintenance (O&M) plans;
  • Environmental monitoring and adaptive management.