Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) Dredging Services division has embarked on another maintenance dredging campaign at the Port of Cape Town to ensure the port provides safe navigational channels and berthing facilities for shipping.
Around 20,000m³ of sand and sediment is expected to be removed during the dredging exercise, which started on 28 October.
The project is aimed to restore the design depths leading from the basin to the berths as well as the berth areas alongside South East Quay in the basin. Dredging will also address localized high spots along the long quay in Duncan Dock.
The Italeni grab hopper dredger and the Isandlwana trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) have been deployed for the exercise.
The two dredgers complement each other in that the TSHD is built for high speed sailing to the offshore disposal site while the Italeni improves the accuracy of the final dredged depths.
Multi-beam bathymetric surveys will be conducted at regular intervals throughout the campaign to ensure that all areas within Duncan Dock are restored to their original design depths.
TNPA’s fleet renewal program has boosted the dredging division’s capacity to aid the removal of approximately four million cubic meters of excess material from the seabed every year at South Africa’s ports.