Dredging consultancy defies the downturn
Despite the economic climate the work load at specialist dredging and coastal consultants Anthony D Bates Partnership (ADBP) remain buoyant. The Somerset UK based company is undertaking a wide variety of projects in the UK, Ireland and overseas at the start of what looks like being another very busy year.
Projects range from capital dredging to expert witness work and involve a multitude of associated disciplines including hydrographic surveys, ground investigation, 3D modelling and diving. A number of recent and current projects require design, licensing, tender documentation and supervision work. January saw the start of capital dredging to deepen berths, re-establish the turning circle and dredge a new breakwater footprint in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland. Westminster Dredging Company was expected to complete the works using their backhoe dredger ‘Manu Pekka’ last month.
Maintenance dredging has recently commenced in the Port of Sunderland under a charter contract with Rhode Nielsen which is providing the trailer suction hopper dredger ‘Sif R’. The work is expected to last for approximately four weeks.
Westminster Dredging is also nearing the completion of maintenance dredging work in the Port of Workington using a combination of a small trailer to remove silt and sand and a small grab dredger to remove gravel, cobbles and boulders that have been flushed into the turning basin by high flows in the River Derwent.
Tenders have been received for large scale maintenance dredging throughout the Port of Belfast. This contract, which will require one or more trailer suction hopper dredgers with supporting plough boats, has yet to be awarded.
Van Oord has just completed the dredging of Swansea Marina in South Wales using the water injection dredger ‘Odin’. Post-dredge surveys are expected soon and will be analysed by ADBP to ascertain the longer term viability of adopting this method of dredging.
Maintenance dredging is also ongoing in the Port of Waterford in the Republic of Ireland. This contract is being undertaken by UK Dredging using their trailer dredgers ‘UKD Bluefin’ and ‘UKD Dolphin’.
Other current UK and Irish projects include studies concerning the restoration of ornamental lakes at a National Trust property, identifying the optimum method of removing accumulations of sediment from beneath link span pontoon on the River Mersey in Liverpool, site investigations in South Wales, expert witness commitments worldwide, site support for a pipeline landfall in Ireland, dredging licensing support for a new power station in the UK, as well as a number of dredging review reports and dredging strategy documents on behalf of various port and harbour authorities.
The ever increasing burden of regulation has caused the lead-in time for projects to become much greater. Gone are the days when gaining the necessary permits was a minor part of a dredging or coastal engineering project. ADBP are now finding that this element of any works can account for a significant amount of total project time, sometimes resulting in works having to be postponed until the required permits are issued.
