Waterway Constructions, based in Sydney, Australia, has taken delivery of a Damen DOP250 submersible dredge pump. The company is a specialist maritime contractor that undertakes construction, maintenance and refurbishment of maritime structures throughout Australia. It owns one of the largest fleets of floating plant on the east coast of Australia including floating cranes, piling rigs and barges.
The DOP250 is a wear-resistant, submersible dredge pump, capable of moving 1,250 cubic metres of material per hour through a 250mm pipe. A wide range of easily interchangeable suction heads is available, making it ideal for almost any dredging job, and indeed Damen DOP Submersible Dredge pumps can be found in operation all over the world.
In 2014, Damen delivered a Crane Barge 3216 to Waterway Constructions, and this latest order is a welcome continuation of an established relationship.
The first assignment for the DOP250 pump will be at a bulk liquids terminal at Mayfield, Newcastle, owned by Stolthaven Australia. There Stolthaven is developing a new wharf to allow for the berthing and mooring of vessels up to 100,000 tonnes DWT. The wharf will provide a 270-metre long by 20-metre wide berth protruding from the existing sheet pile wall, and the project features a steel combi-pile wall including side walls and submerged wing walls.
The DOP250 will play a central role in the dredging of all the material from within the dredging envelope and the dredging and shaping of the revetment slopes. It will be attached to a long reach excavator mobilised on a barge, from where it will be lowered to the sea bed where it will loosen and then extract the material using a sand production head. Where the sand is compacted or mixed with clay, a cutter unit fixed to the DOP250 will be used. Some of the material will then be placed behind the new combi wall wharf in a controlled and sequenced manner while the remainder will be disposed of at the designated offshore dredged spoil disposal area. Power will be provided by a hydraulic power pack on the barge. Work began in April this year and is scheduled for completion in August 2017.
Chris Hickey, Project Manager at Waterway Constructions Pty Ltd, commented: “The DOP250 dredge pump has proven to be the perfect solution to the project’s dredge requirements, with the performance of the cutter unit particularly exceeding all expectations. The Damen dredge pump was easily fitted to the excavator and paired with Waterway’s hydraulic power pack has pumped the high concentration dredged material through the discharge pipe to the adjacent reclamation area with extremely high output and fuel efficiency.”
Waterway Constructions
Waterway Constructions was established in 1993 and has grown to become one of the largest specialist maritime contractors in Australia. The company undertakes the construction and maintenance of wharves, bridges and other maritime structures. Waterway Constructions owns one of the largest fleets of floating plant in the east coast of Australia including floating cranes, piling rigs and barges. Recently, the company has acquired plant and equipment to expand our capability into inland marine works on rivers and particularly bridges. Our temporary bridge system provides a platform for the construction of bridges and jetty structures where barges are not practical.
Waterway Constructions prides itself on its technical skills and innovation and have won a total of thirteen awards from the Institution of Engineers, the Civil Contractors Federation and the Master Builders Association of Australia in engineering. The operations team has the capacity and experience to undertake large scale maritime works including all ancillary structures and services. Waterway Constructions has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and operates throughout Australia.
Waterway Constructions is part of Keller plc incorporating Keller Foundations, Austral and Keller Ground Engineering within Australia. We are part of the Keller network of companies that employs 10,000 personnel with an annual turnover of £1.56 billion (AUD $3.12 billion) across 40 countries worldwide.
Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 32 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 9,000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 6,000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 180 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.
Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.
Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.
For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
In addition to ship design and shipbuilding, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has a worldwide network of 16 repair and conversion yards with dry docks ranging up to 420 x 80 metres. Conversion projects range from adapting vessels to today’s requirements and regulations to the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,500 repair and maintenance jobs annually.
