Reducing dredging CapEx without reducing efficiency
Around the world, organisations of all shapes and sizes and across all industries continue to face significant pressures around managing their budgets in the most efficient and effective manner. And today, there is an increasing need to reduce capital expenditure (CapEx) without reducing efficiency.
Particularly for the dredging industry, traditional methods have always been associated with high CapEx, largely due to the heavy machinery and labour-intensive processes involved. Coupled with the ongoing maintenance costs of ageing equipment and the unpredictability of environmental factors, the financial burden is weighing heavy.
As the cost of major dredging operations and maintenance in oceans, ports, harbours and waterways can run into the millions, authorities and dredging companies are looking for innovative approaches to mitigate or curb these costs. But, it remains imperative that we do not compromise on efficiency, production values and environmental protection.
Thanks to our innovative agitation dredger, Tiamat, we are proud to have delivered considerable financial relief for Harwich Haven Authority, (Essex, UK), whilst making valuable efficiencies, without compromising on the performance or delivery of the maintenance dredging campaigns.
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.
With potential savings on equipment procurement, maintenance and operational expenses, Tiamat offers port authorities and dredging companies around the world a cleaner, greener and more efficient method of maintenance dredging.
CapEx savings can be made on Tiamat thanks to its clever design, meaning a bespoke vessel is not required to complete the work. It has been designed to be mounted on a workboat or multi-cat of 25 – 27 metres, using an A-frame. This means, that unlike traditional Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHDs), it does not require a bespoke vessel for the sole activity.
Another major advantage Tiamat has over TSHDs, is that operators don’t need to travel back and forth to a disposal site to offload the collected sediment – Tiamat works by self-replenishing sediment in the estuarian system at the appropriate depth, through natural re-suspension. By “Dredging with Nature” we can reduce the overall maintenance dredging costs by up to 40% compared to THSDs, because only a work boat and the energy of the tide is needed.
Tiamat is versatile and scalable, so it can be tailored to the requirements of each port or business, maximising the effectiveness of dredging, no matter the turbidity of the water.
Cost savings produced by Tiamat vary from location to location depending on the existing dredging methods being used, the volume of sediment, the location of the disposal site, hydrographic conditions and the dredging and environmental problem that needs to be solved. During recent campaigns, the cost of using the Tiamat was £1per cubic metre of sediment, while the cost of using the 7,500 cubic metre-capacity TSHD was between £2 – £3 per cubic metre.
There will always be challenges with managing the economics for any business, and particularly in the dredging sector, but by embracing innovation, leveraging technology and putting sustainability first, the dredging industry can thrive in a new generation of efficiency.
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