Almost every bottom work starts with dredging, it is regularly the biggest part of the job.
And for some time, our company has regularly been asked to remove large amounts of silt in places where other dredging companies can’t go. As this demand kept recurring, we decided to invest in a professional mobile dredging unit based on the DOP200 dredging pump from the manufacturer Damen Dredging Equipment.
Over the years, the concentration of mussels and oysters in the silt has increased dramatically. This is due to improved water quality which of course makes us happy. These mussels and oysters easily clump together and then form large clusters that cannot be pumped with “ordinary dredging pumps”. We have tested several pumps over time with the same result every time: after a few minutes, the impeller in the pump housing blocks and everything has to be taken out of the water to be cleaned. Very annoying for the divers and for the customer….
Until we called on the dredging specialists at Damen Dredging Equipment in the Netherlands. Based on our data and experience, they suggested choosing a DOP200 pump. This 8″ pump can pump up to 800m³/hour and can handle concentrations of up to 30% solids in the water.
A few days ago, the unit was delivered and immediately shipped to the first yard. The job involved removing more than 500m³ of silt from an underwater tunnel. The pump was suspended just outside the tunnel and equipped with underwater suction hoses operated by the divers in the tunnel.
It proved an instant success. At the time of writing, the project is not yet over, but it is clear that we are nicely on schedule. And not once has the pump jammed even though the divers just push the suction head of the hose deep into the silt.
So far, things are going well!
