Dredging in ports and harbours: balancing sustainability and efficiency

Each year, dredging extracts some six billion tonnes of sand and sediment from the world’s ocean floor, according to the latest United Nations estimates. In Britain, the figure is up to 20 million tonnes a year, but that could rise to 29 million tonnes by 2030, The Crown Estate data suggests.

While dredging is vital for maintaining or increasing the depth of navigation channels, anchorages, or berthing areas to ensure the safe passage of boats, as well as being important to many industries to produce concrete, glass, and other vital materials, dredging can have significant impacts on biodiversity, animal and marine life, and the landscape.

The global dredging rate is “perilously close” to the natural replenishment rate of 10 to 16 billion tonnes per year necessary to sustain coastal and marine ecosystems, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) believes. UNEP has created the Marine Sand Watch platform to track and monitor large vessels dredging around the world.

With the addition of challenges from rising sea levels to the urgent pursuit of a net-zero carbon economy, the need for innovative dredging solutions that break traditional boundaries has never been more apparent. Ports and harbour professionals around the world are constantly looking for ways of balancing sustainability and efficiency, so dredging can be made more responsible and environmentally friendly.

A quest for change

At Haven Dredging, we understand the need to innovate beyond current standards, and as a result, proudly introduced Tiamat in April 2023 – an agitation dredging solution that is already redefining how maintenance dredging is approached around the world.

Tiamat offers a cleaner and greener method of maintenance dredging – one that is easy to deploy, adaptable and all at a lower cost. Its technology is built on the foundation of sustainability, reducing maintenance costs, whilst embracing a cleaner, greener process compared to conventional methods.

Dredging with nature

In essence, Tiamat is Dredging with Nature. It works alongside nature and for the benefit of nature. The standard Tiamat has three pumps, two of which are used to inject water into the sediment overlying the bed of the harbour, whilst the third pump extracts the diluted sediment and pumps it up a flume, where it is released into the water column. Sediment is naturally redistributed in the ecosystem, using the tide and the current, which allows marine life to benefit from the resources held in the sediment.

Mounted on a small workboat or multi-cat with an ‘A’-frame, Tiamat is lowered into the water to the depth required. Using the power of the tide and currents, it promotes self-replenishment in the estuarian system. As it replaces sediment at the appropriate depth, there is no evidence of turbidity or water quality being impacted.

Sustainability and environmental impact

Tiamat also supports the ecology of mud flats, as it replaces the need for invasive “beneficial placement” of sediment, potentially disrupting wildlife settled here.

Marine life and wildlife in and around the dredging area will be less impacted, because Tiamat shortens the dredging process, and disperses the sediment naturally. Other wildlife and nature also benefit, as traffic levels, noise and emissions pollution are all reduced compared to traditional dredging methods.

Adaptability

The pioneering technology is adaptable and easy to deploy, making it suitable for port authorities and harbour engineers around the world. Tiamat works by pumping up and discharging sediment in the mid water column, so it can dredge continuously without having to dispose sediment elsewhere. This means the amount of harmful emissions being released in to the environment can be reduced by up to 90% when compared to traditional dredging methods.

Tiamat’s scalable technology also ensures a bespoke design for each port, maximising dredging effectiveness.

Tiamat in action

At Harwich Haven Authority, the organisation is already reaping the rewards of Tiamat. Typically, it contracts five TSHD campaigns, removing approximately 2 – 2.5 million m3 of silt from the harbour each year. In 2024, the plan is to reduce to only three TSHD campaigns, alongside three Tiamat campaigns, reducing costs by two-thirds and total GHGs from maintenance dredging by up to 35%.

If you’d like to find out more on how Tiamat can help with your dredging project, please contact us.

 

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Questions?

Whether you have a question or are ready to start your project, the Haven Dredging team is happy to help. Get in touch and we will support you with the best solution for your project.

Contact us

Dredging in ports and harbours: balancing sustainability and efficiency

Each year, dredging extracts some six billion tonnes of sand and sediment from the world’s ocean floor, according to the latest United Nations estimates. In Britain, the figure is up to 20 million tonnes a year, but that could rise to 29 million tonnes by 2030, The Crown Estate data suggests.

While dredging is vital for maintaining or increasing the depth of navigation channels, anchorages, or berthing areas to ensure the safe passage of boats, as well as being important to many industries to produce concrete, glass, and other vital materials, dredging can have significant impacts on biodiversity, animal and marine life, and the landscape.

The global dredging rate is “perilously close” to the natural replenishment rate of 10 to 16 billion tonnes per year necessary to sustain coastal and marine ecosystems, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) believes. UNEP has created the Marine Sand Watch platform to track and monitor large vessels dredging around the world.

With the addition of challenges from rising sea levels to the urgent pursuit of a net-zero carbon economy, the need for innovative dredging solutions that break traditional boundaries has never been more apparent. Ports and harbour professionals around the world are constantly looking for ways of balancing sustainability and efficiency, so dredging can be made more responsible and environmentally friendly.

A quest for change

At Haven Dredging, we understand the need to innovate beyond current standards, and as a result, proudly introduced Tiamat in April 2023 – an agitation dredging solution that is already redefining how maintenance dredging is approached around the world.

Tiamat offers a cleaner and greener method of maintenance dredging – one that is easy to deploy, adaptable and all at a lower cost. Its technology is built on the foundation of sustainability, reducing maintenance costs, whilst embracing a cleaner, greener process compared to conventional methods.

Dredging with nature

In essence, Tiamat is Dredging with Nature. It works alongside nature and for the benefit of nature. The standard Tiamat has three pumps, two of which are used to inject water into the sediment overlying the bed of the harbour, whilst the third pump extracts the diluted sediment and pumps it up a flume, where it is released into the water column. Sediment is naturally redistributed in the ecosystem, using the tide and the current, which allows marine life to benefit from the resources held in the sediment.

Mounted on a small workboat or multi-cat with an ‘A’-frame, Tiamat is lowered into the water to the depth required. Using the power of the tide and currents, it promotes self-replenishment in the estuarian system. As it replaces sediment at the appropriate depth, there is no evidence of turbidity or water quality being impacted.

Sustainability and environmental impact

Tiamat also supports the ecology of mud flats, as it replaces the need for invasive “beneficial placement” of sediment, potentially disrupting wildlife settled here.

Marine life and wildlife in and around the dredging area will be less impacted, because Tiamat shortens the dredging process, and disperses the sediment naturally. Other wildlife and nature also benefit, as traffic levels, noise and emissions pollution are all reduced compared to traditional dredging methods.

Adaptability

The pioneering technology is adaptable and easy to deploy, making it suitable for port authorities and harbour engineers around the world. Tiamat works by pumping up and discharging sediment in the mid water column, so it can dredge continuously without having to dispose sediment elsewhere. This means the amount of harmful emissions being released in to the environment can be reduced by up to 90% when compared to traditional dredging methods.

Tiamat’s scalable technology also ensures a bespoke design for each port, maximising dredging effectiveness.

Tiamat in action

At Harwich Haven Authority, the organisation is already reaping the rewards of Tiamat. Typically, it contracts five TSHD campaigns, removing approximately 2 – 2.5 million m3 of silt from the harbour each year. In 2024, the plan is to reduce to only three TSHD campaigns, alongside three Tiamat campaigns, reducing costs by two-thirds and total GHGs from maintenance dredging by up to 35%.

If you’d like to find out more on how Tiamat can help with your dredging project, please contact us.

 

Back

Questions?

Whether you have a question or are ready to start your project, the Haven Dredging team is happy to help. Get in touch and we will support you with the best solution for your project.

Contact us