Maintenance work underway on Van Oord’s WID Mersey

Van Oord’s water injection dredger (WID) Mersey has arrived at the Shipyard Gebr. Kooiman BV in Zwijndrecht.

According to Kooiman, the WID is there for some maintenance work. Also, various modifications are also being conducted.

The WIDs Maas and Mersey, developed by Kooiman Engineering in close cooperation with Van Oord, were delivered in mid-2021 and have been in continuous operation since then.

Van Oord said that two electrically driven pumps force water through the U-shaped water injection pipe located at the rear of the vessel. This pipe injects water into the bottom, loosening sediment which is carried away by the current.

The vessels measure 43.07 x 12.40 metres (length and width including the water injection pipe) and have a draught of 3.40 metres.