New dredge pump drive extends life of ‘Maas’
Damen Dredging Equipment of Nijkerk in the Netherlands has replaced the submersed dredge pump drive of the sand mining dredger Maas.
The dredger, built by Damen back in 1986, is still with its first owner, the dredging company Geluk. The operation included the removal of the former hydraulic drive and the engineering and fitting of a new electric drive, including its gearbox, generator and the installation of a new CAT engine.
The sand mining dredger Maas is 52m long, 8.9m wide, has a maximum dredging depth of 43m and discharges through a 600mm diameter pipe. In order to maximize production, a Damen submersed dredge pump is integrated in its suction ladder.
The cost of the refit operation was justified as the Maas is of a robust design and has been kept in very good condition. The refit resulted in a major efficiency gain of over 28% by switching from a hydraulic to an electric drive, which resulted in an important reduction of the sound level and eased the increasing environmental concern when working with hydraulic oil. The dredger is also easier to disassemble now that it is electrified.
Damen Dredging Equipment’s service department delivered the total package of engineering the system, removing all hydraulics from ladder and pontoon, and adapting everything to the new electric components. These include a 450 kW submersed electric motor with mechanical shaft seal plus a one stage gearbox and an elastic coupling on the ladder.
In the aft side pontoon a 530 kW generator was installed, plus a new Caterpillar C32 diesel engine. The ladder and the pontoon were transported to the Nijkerk yard, where all work was carried out. After installation of all components, the ladder and side pontoon were connected to the rest of the dredger, whereupon all testing and commissioning took place. Thanks to the practical turnkey execution of the job the dredger then resumed dredging without a hitch.
The dredger is currently at work at the Kraaijenbergse Plassen project in the east of the Netherlands, where, thanks to the sound level reduction, an earlier aborted dredging project can now be finished.
