The trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) HAM 317 is currently very busy working at the Port of Huelva, Spain.
The Port Authority of Huelva obtained the “Working with Nature” certification from the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) recently, for its dredging management, which in addition to maintaining the necessary draught to guarantee safe navigation, provides environmental benefits to the surroundings.
This innovative project to recover habitats and seabirds through the beneficial use of dredging and bio-tools by the Port Authority of Huelva, has as its main objective to enhance ecological connectivity in the estuary of the Port of Huelva through two actions.
On the one hand, through the confinement of dredged materials that cannot be dumped into the sea to create new high-value spaces and prevent them from continuing into the ocean, and on the other, the recovery of ecological functions in other places through their removal and subsequent restoration.
This international PIANC initiative, whose jury has awarded only ten certifications internationally in the last six years, promotes a proactive and integrated approach to sustainable navigation infrastructure projects.