Associated British Ports (APB) have asked us to help them resolve an issue with a specialist “ship lift” facility in Southampton. A “Shiplift” system is essentially a large elevator which raises and lowers vessels in and out of the water for dry-docking operations. Many years of silt accumulation mean that the lift is no longer able to lower to its maximum design depth and impacting the functionality of the lift.
ABP approached us as a specialist dredging contractor and awarded us the contract to dredge below the shiplift. This is a specialist operation and will require an innovative approach to achieve the required results as the area under the shiplift cannot be dredged conventionally due to the presence of the lifting deck and surrounding piles. Our team have designed a bespoke plough solution to drag the sediments out from directly under the lift platform, which then enables our backhoe dredger to reach the sediments and load them into a hopper barge as normal.
Our extremely versatile workboat STOUR is being used as a dredge barge, with an 18m long reach excavator on board and using her double-drum, 12t deck winch to operate the plough, whilst the deck crane has been removed to create more room on deck.
Our 150m3 capacity remote controlled, split hopper barge Hurst will be loaded with spoil and towed to the sea disposal site at NAB tower by 24tBP Tug ‘DMS Condor‘.
Works must be completed in accordance with the MMO Marine licence which permits dredging and disposal of up to 5,000m3 of material and all works must be completed before 15th March 2025 to comply with local marine environmental restrictions. This has meant careful planning and good communication with the client and relevant authorities – something Jenkins Marine prides itself on.
If you have a requirement for specialised marine operations in shallow or near shore projects, or a technical dredging project, please feel free to get in touch to see where we can help.