Dredging takes Port of Tyne supersize

The berth on the south bank and the main river channel will be deepened by almost one metre, creating 13m of deep water at the berth and 10m in the channel, setting a new record for the Port of Tyne with the river deeper than ever before.

The dredging is part of a £4m investment in improving the Port’s infrastructure, which includes engineering work already carried out to strengthen Riverside Quay.

Ten weeks of almost constant dredging by a powerful trailing suction hopper dredger will see some 700,000 m3 of silt removed from the river, enough to fill the Albert Hall nine times or to completely fill St. James’s Park Stadium.

Andrew Moffat, CEO at Port of Tyne said, “The industry trend is for even bigger ships and these improvements for the quay and deepening the river will mean we can accommodate these vessels.

“It also significantly expands the Port’s capacity, as the Panamax bulk cargo vessels will be able to carry around 6,000 tons more cargo on each visit. This increases efficiency for our customers and helps us maintain a competitive advantage for the Port of Tyne.

“It is good news for business across the North East region, as this further improvement to the Port’s infrastructure will enable companies to get cargoes to their destination quicker and more efficiently.”

From 1838 to 1900, the Tyne Improvement Commissioners removed over 60m tons of sediment from the Tyne. As well as deepening the river they removed whole islands and straightened it also. The river requires constant dredging and, as recently as the 1970s, Port of Tyne operated its own fleet of dredgers and hoppers. After 43 years on the Tyne the last grab dredger was sold in 2010 to a developing port in Africa. A new £1.1m plough dredger is expected to arrive next month and will provide daily maintenance of river depths.

The Port of Tyne last undertook a major dredging campaign in 2007, removing some 300,000 m3 of sand, silt, clay and rock in the process. Prior to this the river had remained relatively unchanged since 1961, making the present campaign the largest in 50 years and taking the river to its greatest ever depths.

Port of Tyne can now accommodate 80% of the world bulker carrier fleet. The biggest of these are Panamax vessels, measuring up to 250m long, 50,000 gross tons, and capable of carrying 70,000 tons of cargo.

Dredging and clearance operations have also yielded up to 100 tons of debris, including fishing gear, moorings, anchors and shopping trolleys. Dredging was expected to be completed by early this month.