We have been on site in Plymouth at Corporation Wharf working on a project for Cattewater Harbour Commissioners. Corporation Wharf on the River Plym is a dedicated bulk cement storage and distribution terminal with additional capacity for alternative cargoes. In co-operation with consultants the Anthony Bates Partnership we have been carrying out dredging works to improve access for shipping and enable larger ships to access the wharf.

Our versatile multicat vessel Doreen Dorward, equipped with 52t long reach excavator and 3D RTK GPS control system has been deployed to the site, together with 300m³ capacity self-propelled, split hopper barges Nab and Needles and a highly manoeuvrable, single-screw Beaver work boat. An estimated 40,000m³ of spoil will be dredged. Disposal will be carried out under the associated MMO Marine licence.

This is a great start to our busy winter dredging program, which will keep our dredging fleet working industriously through this winter at various locations across the south coast between Plymouth and Ipswich.

Dredging at Corporation Wharf started September 2024 and is due to complete October/November 2024

If you have a requirement for marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.

We’ve been on charter with our versatile ‘multi-category’ vessel STOUR in Dover now for several months for Civil engineering company Dyer & Butler.  They have been working with Dover Harbour Authority on a project involving the refurbishment of their historic lighthouses, located on the Harbour breakwaters.

STOUR has been used as a project workhorse to transport anything and everything to the work site; from scaffolding and materials, to water for pressure washing. Stour’s large protected deck area (capable of carrying up to 75t) and 68tm, 14m reach, deck crane have proved invaluable for the works.

Operating in Dover can be challenging with strong tidal flows and choppy conditions even inside the breakwaters. The two azimuth thrusters on STOUR make her highly manoeuvrable, and ideally suited for these precision operations! The vessel can either push on, using her twin push bow fenders, or come alongside for loading/offloading using the deck crane.

Accommodation is also challenging in the Dover area, especially during summer months. Stour’s crew have been able to stay on board the vessel using her accommodation, making the project easier to organise for crew accommodation needs.

Jenkins Marine are also supplying a highly manoeuvrable, single-screw Beaver workboat as a safety vessel, and to provide crew transfer capability for the project.

This project is expected to complete in September 2024.

If you have a requirement for marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.

We have been commissioned to install a range of environmental units that will provide new marine habitat at Hengistbury Head as part of the ambitious Hengistbury Head Long Groyne Project. This project is a part of a 17-year Beach Management Scheme, with the original 1930’s long groyne being replaced & upgraded between April – October 2024. The groyne is vital to protecting the surrounding headlands and beaches from erosion and sea level rise.

The main project contractors, Boskalis Westminster, approached Jenkins Marine as a long standing local marine partner for marine support, to place these distinctive reef units, weighing approximately 7t each at carefully planned locations off the southern tip of the new groyne.

The vessel required needed to be Something shallow draft, with spud legs to hold position, able to carry a deck cargo of giant reef blocks and stone, and with a suitable lifting capability and the ability to precisely place them on the sea bed.

The solution? To use Jenkins Marine’s 30m long Backhoe Dredger, Doreen Dorward! The dredger works with a 52t extended reach excavator, equipped with a 3D RTK GPS positioning system for high accuracy, spud legs and a selection of buckets and rock grab.

In addition workboat ‘Buffalo’ will be used to tow small 18m pontoon ‘JML 60’ to site to increase the deck cargo capacity and transport the reef blocks, whilst the Doreen Dorward will be able to transport the additional rock on her large deck.

This is an exciting, environmentally positive project to work on which has many technical challenges, and we are working closely with the Boskalis Westminster team to find the best solutions!

You can find out more about the project, it’s progress and aims here: https://twobays.net/project/hengistbury-head-long-groyne-works/

And at:

Hengistbury Head Long Groyne works

If you have a requirement for marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.

Our shallow draft utility vessel Buffalo has been chartered by Bournemouth University’s Marine Archaeology team to help recover a number of unique artifacts recently discovered on the only known surviving wreck of an English Medieval commercial vessel, which sank off Studland Bay during the reign of Henry III. We have worked with the university’s archaeology team before and were thrilled to be asked to help with this historic project.

Buffalo was able to use her self-elevating spud legs, remotely operated from the wheelhouse, to accurately position the vessel and hold it in place, without risking damage to the historic ship wreck. Buffalo’s powerful 30tm hydraulic deck crane was then used by our experienced crew and, with good communication with the client’s dive team, the archaeological remains, including some very large medieval grave slabs, were carefully lifted from the seabed on a purpose-made lifting frame up on to Buffalo’s spacious deck.

^{Images courtesy of Bournemouth University Marine Archaeology Dept.}

The remains were speedily transported back to shore where they were delivered to MAST Archaeological Centre in Poole. Here they will undergo preservation treatment to ensure their survival out of seawater. It is hoped the items will be displayed in the local Maritime Museum in Poole when it reopens in 2025.

Another safety vessel was in attendance, and the whole operation was filmed by the Time Team film crew  and is available to watch on their Youtube channel. The site has been afforded the highest level of government protection, as England’s oldest known wreck site with a visible surviving hull.

Jenkins Marine Director Dan Jenkins said:

“We’re proud to be able to support our local maritime heritage, and the work of this excellent local marine archaeology team of experts”.

If you have a requirement for marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.

You can read more about the University’s wreck recovery project here:

https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/collaborate/support-bu/mortar-wreck-uncovering-englands-oldest-surviving-shipwreck

Bournemouth University has a short video here showing part of the recovery and finds:

https://youtu.be/Plhq8liByVA?si=LG101HjaD3-BJBY0

And Time Team has an episode featuring the discovery here:

Our powerful, shallow draft, Damen Multicat Wind Lass and self-propelled spud leg pontoon Doreen Dorward, accompanied by deck pontoon barge JML5014, have been hard at work on the River Severn in Wales where they have been assisting in the installation of a new treated waste water outfall. Marine civil engineering contractor, Kaymac, who we have worked successfully with in the past, invited us to work together again on this project.

Our team are facing challenging tides and currents on the Severn which boasts the second largest tidal range in the world. With some of the work inshore in drying areas, and some further offshore in deeper areas, they have been using a combination of spud legs and a four point mooring system to mitigate the changing working conditions.

Our 50t long reach excavator equipped with 3D GPS Prolec system is being used to accurately excavate the trench ready for the new pipeline, and drive temporary marker piles. Our 50m x 14m pontoon deck barge JML5014, has been fitted out for the project with deck protection for a large 150t crawler crane, welfare containers and four point mooring system.

JML5014 is being moved around the project site by our powerful 37tBP workboat ‘Wind Lass’, which is also anchor handling, and being used to transfer people, goods and materials, and even the pipe, to/from the project site from the shore base.

_{Footage filmed by Jon Price, engineer on Wind Lass}

We are on track for successful completion of the project and we are thrilled to be working with Kaymac Marine again on such a challenging project.

If you have a requirement for marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.

Jenkins Marine’s powerful, twin screw tug Handfast  has been in Guernsey this week assisting the Brittany Ferries 157m Barfleur successfully dock at St Peter Port. The operation was a berthing trial that Brittany Ferries hopes will boost support for its ambition to become an operator to serve the islands’ freight and passenger networks.

Handfast is a twin-screw tugboat, certificated under the MCA Workboat Code of Practice for operation up to 60 nautical miles from a safe haven for general operations. Built by Meyer Shipyard, she is a unique design being the heaviest build Damen Stan style Tug constructed for its time, and perfect to provide support for such a large vessel as the 900 passengers and 590 car capacity Barfleur.

Crowds gathered on top of the White Rock terminal in Guernsey, next to the Yacht Club and along the Castle Emplacement to watch the Barfleur slowly make a turn to port and successfully ease into its designated berth east side of the New Jetty and then back onto the “ro ro” ramp, carefully watched over by Handfast.

You can find out more about this story and view video footage of the operation at the following sites:

Guernsey Press: https://guernseypress.com/news/2024/04/25/watch-barfleur-berthing-trial-goes-without-a-hitch/

Island FM: https://www.islandfm.com/news/guernsey/barfleurs-trial-docking-in-guernsey-a-success/

Strong and reliable our tugboat Handfast is available for towage, ploughing and harbour support services throughout northern Europe. If you have any requirement for her services, please feel free to contact us.

If you have a requirement for marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help. Alternatively, you can find out more about our specialist vessels here:  https://jenkinsmarine.co.uk/our-vessels/

We are thrilled to announce that our powerful 37t Bollard Pull, Damen multi-cat, utility vessel Wind lass and our twin-screw tugboat DMS Condor, together with our large pontoon fleet, are now under the commercial management of Landfall Marine Contractors BV

Landfall is a Dutch company, based in Ridderkerk in the vicinity of Rotterdam, specialising in the charter of marine equipment. They operate a wide variety of high specification seagoing vessels and (floating) marine equipment focused mainly around Europe but also around the world, such as anchor handling tugs, multi-purpose workboats, multi-purpose pontoons, flat top pontoons, (split) hopper barges, crawler cranes and more maritime related equipment.

With projects already being finalised through Landfall we are confident that this is the start of a successful relationship between two well established and respected maritime companies that will benefit both us and our clients.

Jenkins Marine Director Dan Jenkins said:

“I’m excited to be working with our new partners Landfall who are very active within the workboat sector across Europe, for what I’m confident will be a long lasting and successful relationship”.

You can find Wind Lass on Landfall’s ship directory here: Shallow draft multipurpose workboat Wind Lass

And you can find DMS Condor listed here: Shallow draft anchor handling DMS Condor

If you have a requirement for marine operations in shallow or near shore projects or require more information, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.

The featured image above shows our larger backhoe dredger, ‘Doreen Dorward’ working through the night with our new 50t long reach excavator and 3D GPS guidance system and split hopper barge ‘NAB’, at Sparkes Marina on Hayling Island. This site incorporates some of our usual challenges, including tidal constraints for working in very shallow water.

An issue we often encounter with dredging projects, they tend to be shallow! We have learned to work with the tides, loading on the rising tide, and getting the fully laden hopper barge to depart the dredge site at or just before high tide. Of course the fully loaded barge has the largest draft of any vessel on site, but in our case this is a minimal 2.3m. The barge then proceeds to sea to dispose of her dredged spoil at the designated sea disposal site (often Nab Tower, for many Solent dredge areas). After discharging the load, the draft is greatly reduced again (1.2m), which helps the empty barge get back into the dredge area ready for the next load, before it get’s too shallow on the low tide.

Working in Chichester Harbour presents an additional challenge to overcome, namely the shallow bar at the harbour entrance, which is also highly weather sensitive and creates choppy conditions when there is a fresh breeze, especially when you have ‘wind over tide’. The trip to sea usually takes around 4 hours. To maximise production, work most efficiently and provide the client with the most competitive price, we have adapted to working tidally in Chichester harbour. This means that dredge crews work over the high tide every 12 hrs, day and night, to get the project completed as soon as possible!

We work extensively for marina operators, and we understand that whilst areas have to be cleared of vessels and pontoons in order to dredge, this represents a period of lost revenue for the operator. We focus on providing an efficient service to get in and out as quickly as possible, so the client can get their marina operating again and resume normal service.

Our dredgers have been busy working at various marinas along the south coast this winter, many within the Solent and South coast areas. After completing the current contract in Chichester Harbour, we will be moving back into the Solent to work in Cowes on the Isle of Wight for several of our regular clients, before the dredger moves on to other exciting civils projects planned for the spring/summer period. Our smaller compact hopper dredger ‘C H Horn’ has also been busy working in the local area this winter for several Marinas, an ideal choice when a there is a nearby sea disposal site.

If you have a requirement for dredging or marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.

Our twin screw tug boat DMS Condor has started a voyage around the UK to assist the specialist heavy cargo barge Terra Marique in its transportation works. Departure was from Portland and up to Ellesmere Port  with the plan to continue on to Dundee and then on with further project operations once completed with the present charter.

The impressive 80m long Terra Marique is a unique, semi-submergible, heavy cargo transportation barge designed to carry abnormal indivisible loads. Its design combines state-of-the-art technology with traditional marine and heavy transport engineering. The sea going barge has been developed to a unique design to maximise the transport options of UK and European ports, rivers and inland waterways. You can read more about it here: robertwynnandsons.co.uk/our-fleet/terra-marique

_{This & top image courtesy of Danny Kelliher}

Our powerful and highly manoeuvrable twin screw, Damen built tug boat DMS Condor is ideally suited to provide support operations for the Terra Marique and is the ideal partner in tow support of this unique vessel in and around the UK waters. DMS Condor is playing a vital role in the Terra Marique’s operations, with the ongoing weather conditions posing a significant challenge.

In light of recent storms affecting the British Isles over the past few months, current weather patterns must be carefully taken into account when determining the optimal  passage for the vessels, ensuring a successful delivery to Dundee. Storm Isha has been worrying the plans to move the Terra Marique from Portland into Ellesmere Port prior to the end client’s cargo arrival deadline. and there seems to be a significant change in climate. This season has been a challenge to all marine operations for coastal movements of vessels. We do look forward to more favourable weather as the year develops.

If you have a requirement for marine operations including specialist marine tow services, in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.

Civil engineering contractor BAM Nuttall / Farrans JV  approached Jenkins Marine and asked if we could offer any solutions to the required dredging of high spots in the river channel at Great Yarmouth around the new third river crossing. The ambitious new bridge will ease traffic congestion on the town’s roads and shorten journey times, as well as supporting wider plans to maximise economic growth opportunities in the town and wider borough.

The initial hurdle arose when Jenkins Marine’s larger dredger, a perfect fit for the project, was still committed to other projects. Furthermore, the dredge design and tidal height necessitated a more specialised approach than a smaller hopper dredger could accommodate. Undeterred, our team strategised and identified the need to source a suitable long reach excavator that could be accommodated by another of our utility vessels.

25m x 9m workboat STOUR was selected as a suitable platform for a 45t long reach excavator (supplied by W M Plant) to remove the isolated high spots of material around the new bridge site which was above the charted navigation depth. STOUR offers a spacious large clear timber clad main working deck of 20m x 9m, with a cargo capacity of 75t. The extremely versatile vessel is also equipped with remote operated spud legs and is self-propelled allowing it to position quickly and accurately on site.

The 20m long reach excavator was delivered to the Jenkins Marine yard in the Port of Poole, and safely loaded onto the deck of STOUR, suitably lashed to sea-fasten it in accordance with the recommendations of the Towage Approval Surveyor, ready for towage to site.

Efficiently managed by the powerful 37tBP Multicat workboat ‘Wind Lass,’ the project unfolded in two phases. First, Wind Lass undertook the tandem tow of the STOUR and the 150m³ capacity split hopper barge ‘HURST‘ from the South Coast to Great Yarmouth in just two days, utilising its powerful deck winches for the tow wires.

The second phase involves Wind Lass towing split hopper barge HURST to the designated local sea disposal site, located approximately 2nm outside Great Yarmouth, where its remote-controlled hopper allows precise sea disposal operations of the dredged spoil from the comfort of the towing vessel’s wheelhouse!

The project is working towards completion before Christmas 2023 and showcases Jenkins Marine’s ability to plan and manage complex, large scale multi-vessel operations and logistics at short notice and in challenging marine environments.

You can read more details about this ambitious infrastructure project here: BAM Farrans Joint Venture…

If you have a requirement for marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help. Alternatively, you can find out more about our dredging operations here: Dredging Services