A new dredger called the Rotterdam will be arriving in Gladstone next week to continue project works for the Western Basin Dredging and Disposal Project (WBDDP).
It is expected to remain on the project until February 2013.
The Rotterdam, a trailer suction hopper dredger, is a self propelling vessel designed to dredge material and transport spoil to the offshore disposal area.
It can carry the load over large distances and empties by opening the bottom doors or by pumping the load onshore.
The Rotterdam is restricted in its ability to manoeuvre when dredging and boaters are advised to maintain a safe distance of 50 metres.
Once the Rotterdam begins operating there will be a total of 3 dredges working on the WBDDP, however, the Castor, a cutter suction dredger (the photo), operates periodically on the project.
Approximately 9,800,000 cubic metres of material has been removed from the Western Basin, which is just over 37% of the total project capacity of 26 million cubic metres.
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Press Release, October 10, 2012