Wasa Dredging

What Wasa Dredging does

Wasa Dredging Oy Ltd is a privately held Finnish marine construction and dredging contractor headquartered in Vaasa, Finland, founded in 1985 by Kristian Backlund. The company specialises in underwater drilling and blasting, backhoe dredging, and dredging of hard and soft soils — including contaminated, polluted and UXO-containing masses — for harbour and fairway deepening, environmental remediation, land reclamation, trenching, backfilling, and breakwater/erosion protection works. Its primary customer segments are government port and maritime authorities (e.g., Väylävirasto, Kystverket/Sjöfartsverket, Port of Gothenburg, Port of Kokkola) and marine construction/infrastructure contractors that subcontract specialised dredging scopes (e.g., PEAB, YIT, MT Højgaard, Dragados, Van Oord JV).

The company's competitive position rests on an in-house designed and built fleet of specialised assets: backhoe dredgers (Optimus 360 t, Hector and Harald 250 t, plus earlier units), combined drilling/backhoe platforms (Hector, Boulder, Harald), a multi-purpose support platform (Balder, 2022), and self-propelled heavy-duty split-hopper barges (Sinann, Boann, and the 2025 additions Rocky and Rockster, each 1,000 m³). Production is supported by Foreshore Dredge Master Backhoe monitoring/recording software, computerized pumping and progress-tracking systems, and specialised environmental tooling (clam-shell environmental bucket, silt curtains, bubble curtains, military-grade armour for UXO work). The fleet is ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 certified, and the company operates a dedicated yard at Vasklot, Vaasa, opened in 2022.

Wasa Dredging generates revenue almost entirely through project-based B2B marine contracting — capital and maintenance dredging, drilling/blasting, environmental dredging and reclamation — won through public tenders (e.g., Port of Kalundborg 2017, Hargshamn 2020, Paldiski 2025) and direct awards (e.g., Kokkola 2018 in JV with Van Oord, ~€50M, the largest contract in company history). A secondary revenue stream is equipment and barge charter to other marine contractors (DBB Dredging, Høj Nordic, Rohde Nielsen). Annual turnover is reported at €30–45 million, with growth expected. The team comprises roughly 60 in-house specialists supplemented by long-term partners such as Rauma Cata, and the company references over 200 successful projects delivered primarily across Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Germany and the UK.

Name

Wasa Dredging

Legal name

Wasa Dredging Oy Ltd

Website

https://wasadredging.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Wasa Dredging Oy Ltd is a privately held Finnish marine construction contractor founded in 1985 in Vaasa, specialising in underwater drilling and blasting, backhoe dredging, and environmental dredging. It serves government port authorities and marine construction firms across Scandinavia and the Baltic region using an in-house designed fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Dredging and Construction Services

NAICS

Site Preparation Contractors (238910), Remediation Services (56291), Ship Building and Repairing (336611), Construction Machinery Manufacturing (33312)

SIC

Heavy Construction Other Than Bldg Const - Contractors (1600), Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730), Construction Machinery & Equip (3531)

akta.pro primary industry

Dredging & Channel Deepening (Capital & Maintenance) (IMAFAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Port & Harbor Construction (Quays, Wharves, Berths) (IMAFAJAA), Sediment Remediation & Dredging (Capping, Removal, Confined Disposal) (EUAIALAG), Breakwaters, Seawalls & Coastal Defense Structures (IMAFAJAC), Subsea & Nearshore Civil Works (Trenching, Rock Placement, Mattressing) (IMAFAJAI)

Keywords

• Marine dredging services
• Underwater drilling blasting
• Port construction contracting
• Environmental dredging works
• Specialised dredger manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Vaasa

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Marine construction contracting: Project-based contracts for capital and maintenance dredging, underwater drilling and blasting, environmental dredging, land reclamation, trenching, backfilling, breakwater and erosion protection works. Revenue driven by tendered and directly awarded projects, with annual turnover reported at 30–45 million EUR.
2. Equipment charter / barge hire: Charter of barges (and other equipment) to other marine contractors for soil transport and dredging support, e.g., barge charter for DBB Dredging (Nakskov), charter work for Høj Nordic Marine Contractors (Riga) and Rohde Nielsen (Lubmin).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Wasa Dredging provides project-based marine construction services including capital and maintenance dredging of harbours and fairways, underwater drilling and blasting of bedrock, environmental dredging of contaminated and UXO masses, land reclamation, trenching, backfilling, and breakwater and erosion protection works. The company owns and operates an in-house designed fleet of specialised backhoe dredgers, combined drilling/backhoe platforms, and split-hopper barges, and executes projects won through public tenders and direct enterprise awards across Scandinavia, the Baltic region and the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dredging

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.9 million m3 dredged in single Kokkola project (2018–2020)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers35 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and operational.

• Van Oord Marine ContractorsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner on the Kokkola Harbour and Fairway deepening project (signed July 2018), the company's largest-ever contract at ~€50 million. Wasa Dredging led the JV while Van Oord contributed its hopper-dredging expertise; together they dredged 2.9 million m3 including UXO, contaminated and bedrock masses.
• Rauma CatacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partner supporting Wasa Dredging's marine construction projects alongside its ~60 in-house specialists.
• VG-ShippingoperationalImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHandles recruitment of sailors for Wasa Dredging's fleet, as listed on the company's Careers page.
• FalconyoperationalImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThird-party ethical reporting / whistleblowing service used by Wasa Dredging for compliance and corporate governance; whistleblowing link is hosted on app.falcony.io.
• DBB DredgingoperationalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBarge charter relationship — Wasa Dredging provides barge transport services to DBB Dredging for soil transport to sea dumping area outside Nakskov harbour.
• Høj Nordic Marine ContractorsoperationalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCharter relationship for dredging works in Riga Freeport — by client dredged soils loaded in Wasa's barge and transported to the dump site for discharge.
• Rohde NielsenoperationalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCharter relationship for dredging works at the Ostsee LNG terminal in Lubmin, Germany — work executed under a strict QHSE plan adapted for offshore operations; 420,000 m3 dredged.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• DEME Group: Belgian marine contractor and dredging major with global offshore and dredging operations. Competes for large-scale Baltic port and offshore wind-related dredging work.
• Royal Boskalis Westminster: Dutch listed global dredging and maritime services giant. Competes with Wasa on Nordic port and fairway deepening tenders as part of its broad international portfolio.
• Jan De Nul Group: Belgian family-owned global dredging and marine contractor with extensive European port deepening and offshore wind experience. Directly competes with Wasa for Scandinavian tenders.

Direct peers

• Per Aarsleff: Danish listed marine and foundation contractor executing harbour, bridge and offshore foundation works across Northern Europe. Directly competes with Wasa for Nordic port construction and dredging.
• Terramare Oy: Finnish marine contractor specialised in harbour construction, dredging and underwater works. Closest direct Finnish peer, competing for the same Väylävirasto and port authority tenders.
• DBB Dredging: Dutch marine contractor active in European dredging. Charter client of Wasa at Nakskov harbour and a comparable Nordic/Baltic peer focused on smaller capital and maintenance dredging.
• Van Oord: Dutch global marine contractor and one of the world's largest dredging companies. JV partner with Wasa Dredging on the €50M Kokkola project (2018) and a direct competitor on Baltic port-deepening tenders.
• Rohde Nielsen: Danish marine contractor specialising in dredging and marine construction. Both a charter client of Wasa (Ostsee LNG terminal, Lubmin 2023) and a direct competitor on Baltic and North Sea projects.
• Høj Nordic Marine Contractors: Danish marine contractor operating in the Baltic region. Charter client of Wasa at Riga Freeport (2024) and a comparable peer competing for harbour and fairway dredging scopes.

Regional players

• MT Højgaard: Danish construction contractor with marine infrastructure capability. Customer of Wasa at Port of Rønne (2022) and a regional competitor on selected civil-marine tenders in Denmark and Scandinavia.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/wasadredging
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wasa-dredging-oy-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wasa Dredging