Two new dredges will be arriving in Gladstone later this month to continue the progress for the Western Basin Dredging and Disposal Project.
The first dredge is scheduled to arrive in the harbour on April 11 and will be replacing the backhoe dredge Simson that has been out of operation since Christmas Day last year. The Hippopotes is a medium size backhoe dredge, arriving by barge from Singapore and the barge will leave with the Simson.
The second new arrival is the cutter suction dredge Castor, which will mainly be working on dredging works for the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal. The Castor and 2 boosters are scheduled to arrive after April 24 to begin deepening the central harbour for berths and swing basins for coal ships.
Once both new dredges have arrived there will be a total of 5 dredges operating on the Western Basin Dredging and Disposal Project.
Gladstone Ports Corporation is project-managing all dredging activities within strict conditions with care and respect for the natural environment.
As such the use of cutter suction dredges has been maximised to keep turbidity caused by dredging to a minimum.
For their safety boat users are reminded to respect the 50 metre exclusion zones around all dredges, related plant and sinkerlines.
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Dredging Today Staff, April 2, 2012; Image: westernbasinportdevelopment