Top Dutch multinational dredger Boskalis could break up over EU sustainability directive
Dutch shipping group Boskalis could potentially be broken up if the European Union does not adapt the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The law entered into force over the summer, requiring companies to also handle due diligence on environmental impact and human rights linked to their entire operations, as well as the operations of those organizations with whom they do business.
"The green course of the EU is completely devoid of any reality," said Peter Berdowski, the CEO of the dredging company, which is headquartered in Papendrecht. He spoke with the Telegraaf about a 2024 in which Boskalis will report operating results of over a billion euros, one of its best years ever.
But the CSDDD threatens a 5-percent fine equivalent to a maximum of global turnover for companies that operate in the European Union, with a net turnover of over 450 million euros, regardless if they are headquartered in the European Union. Those firms based in the EU can only be punished if their staffing levels are above 1,000 full time positions. The fines for the lack of compliance should start in 2027.
“This was conceived on the basis of the idea that the rest of the world will follow the EU. That is understandable in itself, but other non-European countries have their own ideas about this. Here too: piles of reports and uncertainty for companies that are faced with a fine like the sword of Damocles," Berdowski told the newspaper.
"If the CSDDD reporting obligation continues in its current form, we are heading for a split: a Boskalis for the European activities and one for those outside of Europe, because otherwise we will no longer be able to compete with companies that do not fall under this regulation. We operate in the global market and have to relate to it. Another exciting year is coming."
Boskalis was among the Dutch companies that began exploring options for expansion outside of the Netherlands in recent years, particularly during and after the November 2023 elections for the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch Parliament. A wide range of political parties embraced positions which create obstacles to international education, academic coursework in languages other than Dutch, recruitment of workers in foreign countries, and income tax breaks for highly-skilled and knowledgeable foreign workers.
The election brought a coalition government of right-wing parties, led by historically anti-immigrant nationalist party PVV. In the wake of the election, about a dozen of the largest companies in the Netherlands began making moves to expand their offices outside of the Netherlands. With a domestic labor shortage and uncertainty around corporate policy, the companies said they were forced to begin looking elsewhere in the interests of their shareholders.
In March, Boskalis said it already had 300 employees at its Abu Dhabi office, where Berdowski noted they had access to an "endless supply of talent" from Asia. “In Abu Dhabi, we get a visa for staff within a few weeks. In the Netherlands, it takes two years, if we even succeed,” Berdowski said at the time. He told the Telegraaf this week that key shareholder HAL has not expressed a preference about whether Boskalis should remain in Papendrecht, and in what capacity.
If Boskalis posts a profit for 2024 over a billion euros, it will be a substantial improvement from 2023, when the company listed earnings of about 604 million euros. That alone was a 150-percent improvement compared to the previous year. "All in all, this is the best year in history. The market conditions are good, because the war in Ukraine has caused energy prices to rise and it has become necessary to tap into new energy sources. That is where we come in, both on the wind and fossil side," Berdowski said this week.
He noted the company's work in constructing wind farms in the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of the United States this year, as well as its work competing a new airport in Manila. The work on wind energy is because Boskalis began offering more offshore services over a decade ago. But solar and wind still amounts to about 20 percent of the total global energy supply. That means fossil fuel, and its associated environmental impact, will remain instrumental for the time being.
“If you talk about green ambitions in Europe, you see that this is not decisive in the development of global energy consumption. The course that the European Union is taking with regard to green energy is completely devoid of any sense of reality,” Berdowski said.
The company was instrumental in freeing container ship Ever Given which had caused a complete blockade of the Suez Canal. "Next year, we’re going to court in London because we still haven’t received our money from this job due to a dispute about the form of the contract," Berdowski told the newspaper.
