A Dredging Revolution?.wmv

That's how Damen Dredging Equipment feel about their RoRo Deep Dredge concept that was first revealed to the world in the current issue of Dredging and Port Construction (DPC) magazine

"RoRo Deep Dredge (RDD) is an innovative, flexible dredging concept that challenges current technical limitations," says Damen "and is an answer to the increasing demand for raw materials as sand-winning locations are found further offshore and at increased depths -- RDD can dredge to 200m.

"Two vital aspects are key to its flexibility: -You don't need a conventional dredger -- the dredging installation can be mounted on a platform supply vessel (PSV) or similar and thus storage and transport of dredged sand has been separated and is carried out by barges -A trailing suction hopper dredger's (TSHD) steel suction pipes have been replaced by a flexible hose, allowing the dredging depth to vary and be independent of the vessel's length.

"The installation consists of a submerged excavation unit, which includes a draghead and a dredge pump, connected to a hose that runs to a storage reel on deck -- hence the RoRo in its name. On deck, dredge piping connects the reel to discharge spreaders and barges sailing alongside are filled continuously.

"Advantages? -A continuous dredging process, boosting efficiency

- No sailing time required for the RDD-equipped PSV, sharply decreasing idle time -Equipment uptime maximized, increasing investment profitability -The RDD's modular and can be temporarily mounted on a commonly available vessel, resulting in a relatively minor investment and a shortened return-on-investment time."

Bert Visser, dredging expert and DPC correspondent, says: "The new concept is revolutionary in the sense that, if it works, it will make the maximum reachable dredging depth of trailing dredging independent of the length of the vessel."

And you can read the full story in the July issue of Dredging and Port Construction (www.dpcmagazine.com)

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• dredging
• shipping