Silt News

Van Oord’s cutter suction dredger Biesbosch and trailing suction hopper dredger Vox Apolonia are teaming up to dredge the Prinses Amaliahaven located on Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.A consortium of Van Oord, HOCHTIEF and Ballast Nedam has constructed 2.4 kilometres of new quay wall. The new quays are being dredged to a depth of more than 20 metres below sea level. This development means that the Port of Rotterdam Authority is ensuring an expansion of container capacity in Rotterdam.In total 1…

A luxury cruise ship that ran aground this week in a remote part of Greenland with 206 people on board was pulled free by a fishing trawler on Thursday.The Ocean Explorer cruise vessel had been stuck since Monday in mud and silt in the Alpefjord national park, some 1,400 km (870 miles) northeast of Greenland's capital Nuuk."We have just successfully become free now. ...

When a 9,280hp workboat returned to service following extensive repairs at the James Marine Paducah River Service yard in Kentucky, U.S.A., it marked the first application of Thordon’s new seal-embedded bearing to an articulating rudder, Thordon Bearings said Monday. Articulating rudders are unlike conventional rudders and can be more costly to repair when things go wrong. They are more susceptible to wear and tear, due to the higher operating pressures and abrasives, and as a result…

Climate change, rising sea levels, land reclamation and offshore energy are all factors underpinning business models at Europe’s dredge and marine engineering majors. They are adopting strong sustainability credentials as their operations come under closer environmental, social, governance (ESG) scrutiny and new opportunities open up in the US offshore wind sectorThe relatively small number of global marine engineering and dredge firms face more observation of their business models than ever before.

When construction work began on a new arts center in Newport, south Wales, in 2002, the builders on site could scarcely have imagined what they would dig up. While excavating the foundations on the banks of the River Usk, a section of a medieval wooden ship was uncovered which had been perfectly preserved by the river’s waterlogged silt. Archaeologists were called in and it soon became clear the vessel was extraordinary.This was not a coastal sailing boat that would have plied the Severn estuary up to the 19th century.

The Jerry F. Costello Lock on the Kaskaskia River, near Modoc, Ill., has been closed due to silt and debris build up on the lock sill and chamber, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) said.Contracted divers were utilized to remove underwater obstructions, but the issue with the gate persists, USACE's St. Louis District said in a statement on Tuesday. Crews from the St. Louis District’s Motor Vessel Pathfinder are on site to excavate silt that is preventing the downstream miter gates from closing from properly closing.“Our goal at the Jerry F.

Richard Balzano took over as CEO and executive director of the Dredging Contractors of America in December 2020. And while he says he’s “still fairly new to the [dredging] industry”, he certainly knows his way around the business, having held a number of prominent roles over the course of more than 30 years in the maritime and U.S government sectors. His resume is impressive. A combat veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, he retired from the U.S. Navy at the rank of Captain. He later served as the presidentially appointed Deputy Maritime Administrator for three years…

Dutch marine and offshore contractor Van Oord has, together with its compatriot Boskalis, secured a contract for deepening of the approach channel and inner harbor at the Harwich Haven in the UK,  allowing access to large container ships.The contract valued around 140 million euros ($165 million) and split 50/50 between Van Oord and Boskalis has been awarded by Harwich Haven Authority. The project entails the deepening of the approach channel and inner harbor from minus 14.5 to…

The Netherlands-based shipbuilder Kooiman Marine Group is building a new trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) for German Detlef Hegemann Aktiengesellschaft. The 1,500-cubic-meter dredger is designed to execute multiple types of dredging activities at specific locations. Hegemann V is scheduled for delivery in July 2022.The Hegemann V was developed by Kooiman Engineering, part of Kooiman Marine Group, in close collaboration with Hegemann Dredging. With a suction pipe on the starboard side and an inboard dredge pump, the vessel is able to fill the 1,500-cubic-meter hold with silt or sand.

New England’s busiest port moves closer to welcoming larger containerships and growing the regional economy with the completion of the second phase of a three-part dredging program last month, nearly one year ahead of schedule.Cashman Dredging and JV partner The Dutra Group began Phase II of the U.S. Army Corps’ Boston Harbor Navigation Improvement Project in July of 2018. The recently completed phase, focused on deepening the main ship channels (the Outer Harbor Channel from 40 to 51 feet…

Congress recently made a major, if little noticed, new investment in American infrastructure. As part of the year-end budget deal, lawmakers released $10 billion that had been locked away in the Harbor Maintenance Tax Trust Fund to be used for its intended purpose: dredging U.S. harbors to keep our ports open and support U.S. economic and national security.Maritime infrastructure is an indispensable national asset, which is why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recognizes the Maritime Transportation System (MTS) as one of the seven critical subsectors within the transportation system.

Dutch marine and offshore services contractor Van Oord has won a contract to design and carry out the removal of silt from the Averijhaven depot in IJmuiden, The Netherlands, creating space for what will eventually become an energy port for offshore wind.Van Oord won the 1,5-year contract worth 18 million euros (USD 21 million) from Rijkswaterstaat, the executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.After the removal of the contaminated silt, the area will be developed into an energy port.

Dutch dredging giant Boskalis has secured three dredging contracts worth 45 million euros (around USD 53,1 million) in total for coastal protection and port maintenance activities in Germany.The first contract was awarded by the German Waterways and Shipping Office WSA Weser-Jade-Nordsee. It is for the upgrade of the existing coastal defense on the island of Wangerooge for flood protection to the island’s residents.Boskalis said the project would be executed with a local German partner and involves the reinforcement of the groins and revetment for which 200,000 tons of rock will be used.

SPI Servicios Portuarios Integrados for Mar del Plata port in Argentina has acquired a DOP Dredger component package from Damen Shipyards Group. The Argentinian shipyard will build major components and assemble the dredger. The DOP Dredger 250 will be used to dredge underneath a floating dock, which the shipyards wants to keep operational full-time. The trick is that the dock will remain in place during the dredging activities.The Argentinian ship builder SPI has an extensive yard in the bay of Mar del Plata, located on the South Atlantic Ocean.

The Netherlands-based shipbuilding and engineering firm Kooiman Marine Group said it has received an order for the design and construction of a new 1,500-cubic-meter trailing suction hopper dredger for Detlef Hegemann Aktiengesellschaft.The 75.9-meter-long Hegemann V has been developed by Kooiman Engineering, part of Kooiman Marine Group, in close collaboration with Hegemann Dredging to execute multiple types of dredging activities on specific locations.With a suction tube on the starboard side and an inboard dredge pump, she can load the 1500m3 hold with silt or sand.

All summer long, a crimson and white boat moves back and forth through the waters near the Port of Alaska collecting silt, sand and gravel off the seafloor to allow vessels to navigate the harbor in Anchorage. The boat is a dredging vessel called the Westport, operated by Manson Construction of Seattle, Wash., which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District contracted to maintain the mooring areas for the past three years.An estimated 2,400 to 2,600 cargo containers arrive…

Centuries-old maritime craftwork and advanced technology help carbon-free seaborne trade.It was a chance meeting that changed two lives. It may also change the way the world thinks about maritime shipping.An accomplished sailor, Danielle Doggett loves tall ships—the large wind-powered sailing vessels that carry passengers and cargo. Her fascination with the big ships started in her teens, sailing on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes and eventually on the St. Lawrence II, a 72-foot two-mast brigantine built in the 1950s for youth sail training.

Jan De Nul Group reports that it has finished the maintenance dredging operations in the Port of Maputo, Mozambique, for the Maputo Port Development Company. This dredging campaign restored the depths created after Jan De Nul Group’s 2016 capital dredging campaign.Since 2017, the Port of Maputo is open for vessels up to 80,000 tonnes. Jan De Nul Group executed capital dredging works in 2016 to deepen the access channel and port basins from -11mCD to depths varying between -13.05mCD and -14.4mCD.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) delivered the 6000m3 Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) Sanderus to Jan De Nul Group.The Ultra-Low Emission vessel (ULEv) is the fourth dredger that Keppel O&M has delivered to Jan De Nul Group.According to a press release from the shipbuilder, this follows the delivery of three 3500m3 TSHDs earlier this year, all ULEvs and the world's first European Union (EU) Stage V dredgers. Keppel O&M is also currently building Ortelius, a 6000m3 dredger which is identical to the Sanderus, for Jan De Nul Group, with delivery expected in 1Q 2020.Sanderus is fitted with a two-stage filtering technique for exhaust gases.

The reasons for that are many and these realities cater to regulatory, commercial and regional needs.The U.S. dredging market is complex and relies on the diverse fleet of private dredging companies to get the job done. In addition to design and technical capabilities, environmental restrictions and regulations often dictate whether a trailing suction hopper dredge, cutter suction dredge, or mechanical dredge can respond to the coastal protection, wetland restoration, port deepening, and channel maintenance needs of the Nation.

On August 20, 2019, Dutra’s new Jones Act built Hydraulic Dump Scow ES15 was successfully launched, christened, commissioned and will finish sea trials and additional testing this week. Next week the ES15 will head to Massachusetts to to work on the Boston Harbor Deepening Project.ES15 is a 6,000cy Hydraulic Dump Scow built in Corn Island Shipyard in Grandview, Indiana, located at 734 Mile Marker on the Ohio River. Departing from Corn Island, IN  on August 27, 2019, the vessel will head south on the Ohio River…

Keppel Singmarine’s Nantong, China, shipyard has delivered the world’s first dredger to meet European Union Stage V emissions requirements for inland waterways vessels.The wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) said in a press release that has delivered the ultra low emission dredger on time, within budget and with a perfect safety record, strengthening its presence in the non-oil and gas segment.Built for Jan De Nul and named Afonso de Albuquerque, the ultra-low emission Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) is diesel-electrical powered and comes equipped with an efficient exhaust gas filter system. The resultant emission complies with the requirements of the EU Stage V standards, which set stricter limits on emissions.

Niels Aalund was elected President of the International Propeller Club at their 93rd International Convention and Conference. The prominent maritime industry stakeholder will serve a two-year term, commencing from October 17th. Aalund, a well-known maritime subject matter expert and executive, also serves as an Officer and as Senior Vice President of the West Gulf Maritime Association (WGMA). WGMA communicates and coordinates with various governmental entities throughout the West Gulf…