As all Damen cutter suction dredgers are dismountable, their transport is straightforward. The various elements such as the pontoons and control cabin were hoisted from the transport ship onto trucks. These trucks were unloaded on a Nigerian beach for dredger assembly on the spot. The crew together with a Damen field service engineer assembled the cutter suction dredger using hoisting gear available locally. With the main pontoon placed on a wooden ramp, once assembled the dredger was pushed into the sea by 2 bull dozers assisted by a tug pulling the other end. The dredge design allows for this type of launching to make sure it can be deployed anywhere. The CSD500 will perform maintenance duties at a dredging depth of -16 m in the wider Port Harcourt area. The dredge pump has a mixture capacity of 4.000 m3/h and with its respectable swing width of 40 m its performance is impressive. The dredge project was started immediately as the Damen delivery included floating pipe line, land based pipe line, a complete spares package and 2 weeks of crew training by Damen field service engineers. Another Damen cutter suction dredger at work in Nigeria to keep the waterways navigable!
Sunday, May 25, 2025
