20 may 2015
More effective dredging performance for Boskalis' Shoalway
Most of the dredgers serviced by Remontowa Shiprepair Yard over the recent years come from renowned owners Royal Boskalis, being among the world's leaders in a wide range of services including dredging, offshore sector and towage and salvage. The Boskalis' fleet of dredgers comprises some 60 units, including trailing suction hopper dredgers and the largest unit among them - the Queen of the Netherlands with a hopper capacity of 35,500 m³.
A trailing suction hopper dredger has large, powerful pumps and engines that enable it to suck up sand, clay, sludge and even gravel from ocean or river beds. One or two suction pipes run from the vessel to the bed. A draghead is attached to the end of the pipe and lowered to just above the bed, making it possible to regulate the mixture of sand and water that it takes in. A trailing suction hopper dredger generally stores the dredged material in its own hopper and discharges the left-over water overboard, so it may operate on its own, without the need to employ accompanying hopper barges.
On April 23, the dredger of just the type described above, entered the Gdansk based Remontowa Shiprepair Yard, member of Remontowa Holding. The 2010 built vessel was delivered by Intervak Scheepswerf Constructie of Harlingen, but its partly outfitted hull was built in Szczecin, Poland. The ship is 90.2 m long overall, 19.8 m wide and draws 5.9 m. It may dredge up to 30 m deep and features 4500 m³ hopper capacity.
Two years earlier Shoalway visited Remontowa for maintenance of 11 double bottom tanks and replacement of starboard side azimuthing main propulsion thruster. This time, in 2015, the ship had the complete 23-tonne assembly of port side azimuthing thruster (owners' supply) installed. However, the most important item in repair specification, was the dredging pipe works. At Remontowa, the suction pipe was modified, which was aimed at improving the dredging efficiency. Also system for hopper water filling recirculation has been upgraded in pump room and on deck. Furthermore, such works have been done onboard Shoalway during its recent stay at Remontowa, as hydraulic system related works (hydraulic hoses and piping replacement, replacement of hydraulic cylinders for bottom hopper doors. Also overlays have been installed on eight bottom doors (some 2.5 ton of material), as well as freshwater and ballast water tanks bottom plugs, besides some minor works. The dredger has also been docked in the course of recent works, completed late May. After that the dredger commenced work in German port of Rostock.
