Annual report 2019

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A number of interesting new projects were also acquired. The recovery of the offshore oil and gas market is slowly becoming apparent at Heavy Marine Transport demonstrated by the many contracts that were signed in the last quarter of 2019. These contracts included the transportation of LNG modules, two FPSOs and two floating production systems signaling that after a period of low capex levels, activity levels are picking up. Furthermore, we acquired sizable seabed intervention contracts across the globe including the Scarborough contract in Australia, Yunlin in Taiwan (scour protection around wind turbine foundations), El Salvador (connecting an FSRU) and the Lillebaelt Baltic Pipeline project. Within the area of renewables, a sizable contract was awarded for the installation of three export cables for the Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm. The operation will involve the use of a new multifunctional plough that will be pulled by the CSV Boka Falcon that was chartered in 2019. The game-changing renewables contract award for the Offshore Energy division was Changfang Xidao. It is a game changer because it concerns our first foundation work for wind turbines outside Europe. And more particularly because the contract has resulted in the decision to invest in a second crane vessel: the Bokalift 2. This is yet another groundbreaking concept. It combines a crane with a lifting capacity of 4,000 tons, capable of hoisting structures more than 100 meters tall and has a free deck space of 7,500 m². SALVAGE Salvage also had an extremely busy and above all successful year with its most notable projects being salvaging the tankers Front Altair and the Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman as vessels that fell victim to the rising tensions in the region. Other projects included salvaging the 300-meter-long Yantian Express container ship and the Golden Ray car carrier with 4,100 cars on board off the US coast. SAFETY Whilst it was a busy year across the board, we nevertheless were able to once again improve company safety. The Lost Time Injury Frequency continued to drop, falling to a record low of 0.03 per 200,000 hours worked. Our NINA (No Injuries No Accidents) program plays an important role in our ability to improve safety. 2020 marks the tenth anniversary of NINA; its values are now an integral part of everything we do. It is a great example of a program developed in-house that has a massive impact on our culture. TRANSITION As set out in our Corporate Business Plan 2020-2022, of which the main points can be found in this annual report, the coming decades will be characterized by further growth of the global population and increasing wealth per capita. Populations will mainly grow in urban areas, largely in continental coastal areas. This, together with increasing prosperity, will fuel the need for infrastructure – infrastructure that we can create with ports, waterways and land reclamation. It also drives demand for energy, which is expected to

continue to increase. Energy that will not only be found on land, but also offshore. Looking at this demand, we expect that fossil fuels will continue to be important for quite some time. The importance of renewable energy will furthermore increase as part of the energy transition. The rate at which this transition looks to take place will however not avert further global warming. Climate change will become ever more apparent, gradually through rising sea levels and already apparent through more intense and frequent forms of extreme weather. That will have various profound effects, one being that many of these coastal areas with growing populations and prosperity will be under threat. We can play an important role by offering an array of protective measures ranging from beach replenishment to polders, and from dikes to mangroves – many creative ways to protect coastlines and introduce adaptive measures aimed at combatting the effects of climate change. Boskalis is exceptionally positioned to play a significant role as we create and protect welfare and advance the energy transition. We offer a unique combination of people, vessels and capabilities through which we provide innovative solutions. CLIMATE NEUTRAL It goes without saying that Boskalis too has a responsibility when it comes to reducing our CO 2 emissions. That is why we have set ourselves a goal of being completely climate-neutral by 2050. The vast majority of our CO 2 footprint is linked to our vessels with their installed base that run on fossil fuels. We have set out a defined path for how we can become climate neutral. This is based on the vision that hydrogen, in some type of bound form, will be the fuel of the future to power vessels, both for existing and next-generation engines. In the coming years we aim to develop more initiatives with alternative climate-neutral fuels for existing engines, such as biofuel, but also methanol or ammonia. What’s more, we are gaining experience with new types of conversion technologies. In this context we intend to install a fuel cell later this year on board of one of our hopper dredgers as an auxiliary power unit. In many ways the future will be characterized by transition. After a turbulent period, we look ahead with confidence. We have the best people in the industry, ready to provide solutions to the many challenges in the rapidly changing world around us. On behalf of the Board of Management I want to thank all of them for their excellent achievements during the past year, and thank our clients, partners and shareholders for the trust and confidence they place in us.

Peter Berdowski

ANNUAL REPORT 2019 – BOSKALIS