Exmouth Boat Harbor Dredging Underway

Maintenance dredging is underway now to restore navigation channels and sand to beaches at Exmouth Boat Harbor.

Department of Transport (DoT) Coastal Infrastructure General Manager Steve Jenkins said that maintenance dredging, which lasts completed in 2004, would restore depths and ensure safe navigation of the harbor.

“Dredging will also deepen wharf, trawler pen, and breakwater areas identified for improvement in the current $18.275 million upgrades of the facility,” said Mr. Jenkins.

“This project builds upon the regular sand replenishment works that were undertaken by DOT in October 2015, which saw approximately 12,000 m³ of sand shifted from the beach south of the harbor and placed on Town Beach.

“This $700,000, the three-month long campaign will see an additional 25,000 m³ of material placed on Town Beach to enhance the beach for the local community to enjoy.”

Skippers operating in the area and people accessing the beach ought to be aware of the special safety arrangements implemented for the dredging and sand replenishment works.

The facility upgrade work, funded by the State Government through Royalties for Regions, includes an extension to the service wharf, construction of a heavy lift facility and additional moorings.

Briggs Marine Orders Another Damen Multi Cat

Briggs Marine and Environmental Services has ordered a Damen Multi Cat 2712, the 27-meter workboat capable of taking on almost any role in the coastal environment.

Designated the Forth Warrior, the new Multi-Cat, which is currently being fitted out at Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld in the Netherlands.

Special equipment being equipped includes a DPS-1 system for use in activities such as windfarm support and a four-point mooring system for diving operations, featuring removable winches each capable of holding 320 meters of wire.

Like all Damen Multi Cats, 2712 provides spacious deck space for carrying equipment, complete 360 visibility from the deckhouse, and a shallow draught for operations close to the shore. And other roles for the Forth Warrior will include anchor handling, dredging assistance, and vessel support.

This is the third vessel that Briggs Marine has purchased from Damen in recent years. The first was the Forth Jouster Multi-Cat 2611, a slightly smaller version of 2712, and the second the 62-meter Anchor Handling Tug Supplier 75 Kingdom of Fife.

The Forth Warrior is due for delivery in June and will be deployed in the UK and beyond

Martens en Van Oord Wins Brunsbüttel Fifth Lock Chamber Contract

Martens en Van Oord has won the contract for the construction of fifth lock chamber at Brunsbüttel, Germany, which includes the earthworks, dredging, coastal and bank protection works on the project.

The customer, ARGE Neubau 5. Schleusenkammer Brunsbüttel, which formed by three BAM operating companies, has final responsibility for the entire construction of the fifth lock chamber.

“Our work will begin in 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2021,” Martens en Van Oord said.

The entire project includes the construction of a 360-meter sea lock between the Elbe and the Kiel Canal, and the modification of the entrance to the lock approach on the Elbe side.

The construction of the fifth lock is essential for the essential renovation of the century-old lock complex at Brunsbüttel. It will also provide smooth shipping on the busy Kiel Canal.

“Our earthworks, dredging, coastal and bank protection work focus on the lock approach, the preparations for the construction of the fifth lock chamber and the transport and processing of excavated soil,” the company stated.

For the development of the new lock approach, Martens en Van Oord will start by removing the existing bank defenses. Afterwards, the lock approach will be dredged and the company will construct new bank defenses.

“Then we will turn our attention to the earthworks and dredging work required for the construction of the fifth lock, with dimensions of 360 x 45 x 16 meters. For the construction of the lock gates, we will excavate down to a depth of 25 meters, including preparations for the pouring of underwater concrete.”

Finally, the contract covers the transport and processing of all soil excavated during the work from the lock approach and the construction of the lock chamber.

DEME Invests In New Generation Of Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers

With the order of the ‘Bonny River’ at Royal IHC, the Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group DEME is investing in a new generation of trailing suction hopper dredgers which will be trendsetting in coastal protection and dredging hard soils.

DEME is responding to the macroeconomic trend of maritime sand extraction at greater depths and further offshore With this dredger.

A long suction pipe with a built-in submersible pump facilitates sand extraction from more than 100 meters deep.

Thanks to the hull’s optimized design, the ‘Bonny River’, which with its transport capacity of 24,000 tonnes, has a limited depth when loaded, making the ship highly suitable for coastal protection assignments, even in regions with shallow beaches.

An additional asset is the second, shorter suction pipe for dredging works on a harder seabed. By equipping the vessel with 75 tonnes to drag head, the ‘Bonny River’ is multidisciplinary: as a trailing suction hopper dredger, the ship can also remove hard soil which wasn’t dredgeable in the past.

Environmental optimization

The ‘Bonny River’ will be able to minimize the turbidity generated by process water and enables dredging in environmentally vulnerable areas.

Moreover, the hydrodynamic hull and the dual-fuel engines (diesel and LNG) ensure further optimization of fuel consumption and a minimal CO2 footprint.

The ‘Bonny River’ will carry a ‘Green Passport’ and a ‘Clean Design’ classification, a certification for owners and contractors which make the conscious decision to build and operate their ships in an environmentally friendly way.

Modern and efficient fleet
The ‘Bonny River’ – named after the Nigerian river of the same name – is the sixth ship that DEME has on order, besides the multipurpose ship the ‘Living Stone’, the self-propelled jack-up vessel ‘Apollo’, the heavy-lift crane vessel ‘RAMBIZ 4000’ and two additional trailing suction hopper dredgers.

The order for the ‘Bonny River’ has been placed at Royal IHC.

The dredger will be built by Cosco at its shipyard in Guangdong, China.

TSHD Sospan Dau Completes Cardiff Harbor Maintenance Dredging

Trailing suction hopper dredger Sospan Dau of Boskalis Westminster’s has been busy in carrying out the winter maintenance dredging program for the Cardiff Harbor Authority this January.

The works began in early January, and for the past three weeks, the dredging vessel MV Sospan Dau – cooperated with the MV Avanti and Tioga B – has been conducting dredging works in Cardiff Bay Barrage Outer Harbor and the approach channel.

The Cardiff Bay Barrage was finished in 1999 to create an impounded water body as the centerpiece for the regeneration of the area.

A lock system, which contains three locks and an inner harbor, was incorporated into the scheme to provide marine access to the impounded bay at all states of the tide.

The entrance to the locks is located at the mouth of the River Severn and is prone to high rates of siltation. In order to maintain navigable access to the locks, maintenance dredging is required twice a year.

The environmental conditions in the Marine Management Organization license restrict dredging works to the start of the year and August.

Dredging Project To Bring Benefits To McClellanville

A dredging scheme, which aimed to save the commercial shrimping industry in McClellanville, South Carolina, is currently underway, MS News Now reports.

“It’s been about ten years since Jeremy Creek was dredged and now it’s finally happening,” said McClellanville Mayor Rutledge Leland.

He informed that this dredging project was required for the sake of the commercial shrimpers who make their living in this area.

The dredging barge has been working for about a week, deepening the creek to ten feet, according to MS News Now.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved money for this dredging project during the last spring.

“It’s so shallow now that hardly anybody can ever get in there to use it, so without dredging it will probably just show up to the point where it’s totally unusable,” Leland added.

The Jeremy Creek cleanup program should be finished in a week to ten days.