Marine Services (SW) Ltd focuses on dredging for 2022
Tuesday, 18th January 2022
Marine Services Ltd has a history of local dredging work in the Port of Plymouth. Our most recent project was a complicated job that required a novel approach and much problem-solving to access a confined area with various obstructions. The key was to find a way to dredge the area without removing the pontoons.
As a leading marine contractor, in 2020 MSL was approached to find a solution to a dredging problem; some pockets within the maintained areas could not be accessed by conventional dredging plant (e.g. TSHD, grab dredger, backhoe dredger, plough boat, etc) as the physical area was too small and there were underwater obstructions (e.g. reno mat, anchor blocks, pontoons etc).
MSL had to design a bespoke set-up using a submersible pump to pump the accumulated silt from the confined area to an adjacent maintained area which was used as a temporary discharge area.
This resulted in a project to design, build, and test a one-off item produced for this specific purpose. A specialised jetting dredge pump and hydraulic hoses had to be adapted to fit onto the arm of a 14-tonne-long reach excavator in place of a bucket; this then had to be mounted onto a barge to access a restricted area.
MSL designed and fabricated the needed specialised adapter bracket. The issues were that the pump had to be securely fitted, manoeuvrable, and hydraulics adapted and installed to be operated by the excavator.
Most importantly, the pump had to be able to be manoeuvred so that it could dredge underneath pontoons in situ, i.e. it had to be able to be angled at 90 degrees when necessary and also continue to pump efficiently. This needed careful adjustments and setting up of the jetting and hydraulic system to cope with the job requirements.
The work was successfully completed in 2021.
Marine Services (SW) Ltd has a new addition to our workboat charter fleet that is available for dredging operations, dive operations, port maintenance, and marine civil engineering projects. Originally named Griep 2, this workboat offers the following;
Features:
40t deck crane, 16t aft hoist, 4 point mooring system, dredging grabs 37Kva generator, showers, toilets, crew quarters for 6 persons.
Length overall: 23.8 m x Beam: 8.6 m x Draft: 1.54 m
Propulsion: 2 X Daimler 220 HP, twin Schottel units
No of Propellers: 2
MSL can offer various MCA-coded workboats, barges and work platforms with an experienced crew and qualified engineers to manage a wide range of civil engineering projects.
