Damen delivers cutter suction dredger to China
Damen has delivered a customized CSD500 to CCCC Tianjin Dredging. The cutter suction dredger will perform essential maintenance in the Mao Wei Sea in southern China. The shallow draft of the CSD500 is vital as the lake has silted alarmingly the past decades. The multi phase dredging project required a capacity boost at a short notice – which is where the Damen standard cutter suction dredger range came in handy, the company said in its press release.
The CSD500 will work at the Mao Wei Sea project, in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region near Qinzhou. The Mao Wei Sea is a relatively small in-land lake, connected by an estuary to the South Chinese Sea. As a result a unique habitat was formed in the limited tidal differences and the continuous change of salt water and fresh water. The past decades however saw intense local development, land reclamation and an ongoing supply of silt by the rivers which flow into the Mao Wei Sea. These factors have resulted in a decline in the water quality and an extremely limited water depth. To protect this unique location and to facilitate local commerce and fishing a three-phase dredging project was started.
The goal of the project is to obtain a water depth of at least 1 m at low tide, at the entire lake surface of 66 km2. Phase 1 has started, but the current fleet of dredgers had little progress. The Damen CSD500 came in the picture as it combines high efficiency with a very limited draft of 1 m. The standard CSD500, which was available at a short lead time, has been customized with a wedge piece which refines the cutting angle of the cutter unit at the required limited dredging depth. Furthermore, anchor booms and a spud carriage installation have been added from stock, both boosting the dredgers efficiency. The CSD500 has also been fitted out with a BV coastal class approval.
A team of Tianjin Dredging engineers has inspected the cutter suction dredger, named “Qing Jiang”, at the building yard in Nijkerk, the Netherlands. They have also surveyed all dismounting activities. The dredger has been shipped to China, where it will be transported by road to the Mao Wei Sea. Damen field engineers will join the Tianjin Dredging team to assemble the dredger. The teams will jointly commission the cutter suction dredger on site to guarantee a swift start-up.