Dredging plans for Scottish harbours

As statutory authority for these harbours, the council has a legal obligation to provide safe navigation for users of the harbours and the planned dredging will cover the three main harbours under their control, Banff, MacDuff and Stonehaven. It has been reported that to maintain the required access maintenance dredging is required on an annual basis at these harbours to avoid excessive sediment from accumulating in the basins.

Banff on the north coast caters almost exclusively for leisure users whilst nearby MacDuff is an important port for the fishing industry with the MacDuff shipyard established there. Stonehaven to the south caters for a mix of leisure and commercial operators.

Director of Infrastructure Services at the Council, Stephen Archer, commented, “This procurement will enable Aberdeenshire Council to appoint a specialist contractor to carry out maintenance dredging at Banff, Macduff and Stonehaven harbors on a three-year framework contract with the option of an additional 12-month extension, subject to the satisfactory performance of the supplier.”