Boskalis wins £31m Portsmouth dredging
The UK’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has awarded a £31m contract to Boskalis Westminster for capital dredging works on the approach channel to Portsmouth harbour.
The works are in anticipation of the first of the British Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, being commissioned in 2016. At 280m long and with an 11m draught, the two 70,600 tonne displacement vessels will be the largest warships to be based at Portsmouth in its eight century history as a Royal Navy base.
Dredging works will be part of a £100m package which includes upgrades to the jetty, provision of high voltage power for the ships when berthed, installation of navaids within the channel and the design and production of QEC-specific gangways.
Boskalis will also dredge the inner harbour area and berthing pocket, making them both deep and wide enough for the QEC vessels.
Work is due to start in the autumn and be completed by next summer. Boskalis will deploy medium sized trailing suction hopper dredgers and backhoe dredgers to remove some 3 million m3 of clay, sand and gravel. The works will be conducted using specialised dredging methods and continuous monitoring to meet stringent environmental requirements.
DIO project manager Paul Simmonds said: ‘DIO has worked closely with our Royal Navy customers to ensure this work will be carried out in the most cost effective way, taking into account the local marine environment without impacting on the existing operations at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth. This is a good example of DIO delivering for defence.’
By Larz Bourne
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