Boskalis’ TSHD Shoalway raises the bar in rocky area of Shetland Islands

Boskalis’ giant trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Shoalway took part in a very specific dredging project in Scotland recently.

In the port of Lerwick on the Shetland Islands, the vessel dredged over 150,000 cubic meters of sandy material on top of the rocky seabed.

According to Boskalis, this was the first phase of deepening the port area, which plans to accommodate larger passenger, fishing and offshore vessels in the future.

In the second phase, which will be carried out by Boskalis at a later stage, holes will be drilled in the exposed rocky seabed, enabling the use of explosives to blast the rocks into smaller pieces that can be dredged by one of their backhoe dredgers.

To protect local marine life, comprehensive measures will be taken throughout the project, the Dutch giant concluded.