Equipment tailored for Gloucester's biggest ever winter dredging job

Thanks to an extensive supply program, Bell Dredging Pumps can provide the right equipment for every dredging job. This is demonstrated once again during the project which is currently being carried out in Gloucester (England). The company, which operates from Winkel in Noord-Holland, the Netherlands, is making a substantial contribution to the job, which is the largest winter dredging job the city has ever undertaken.

As an international specialist in the rental and sale of dredging equipment for the on- and offshore industry, Bell Dredging has everything on board. The product range, including amphibious excavators, cutter suction dredgers and heavy-duty dredging pumps, is broad and deep. Part of the reason why the client decided to use the expertise and services of the global company for the city's biggest winter dredging project ever. "The project involves a four-month dredging program in Gloucester Docks involving the removal of a layer of silt, sand and sediment from the harbor," explains sales engineer Thijs van den Outenaar on behalf of Bell. "This layer ended up here as a result of the dry summer and the drinking water needs of surrounding towns. As a result, the water depth has decreased from about 3.5 meters in some places to 1 meter or even less. An undesirable situation that particularly hinders shipping while navigating and docking at Gloucester Docks."

Solution

Bell Dredging Pumps provided a solution to the problem with the components for two dredging plants in as many locations. "According to the specifications, originally one particular area in the harbor had to be dredged," said Van den Outenaar. "For this, we supplied a Bell 200 dredge pump with cutting head, power pack (aggregate, ed.) and a floating discharge line. In order to get the various layers of sediment moving properly everywhere and thus dredging even more effectively, an additional high-pressure water pump is used. This feeds the nozzles we installed in and on either side of the cutter head." For additional dredging work that, on further consideration, needs to be done at another location in the harbor, the client chooses to rent the same set from Bell Dredging. Except for one component, it turns out. "Whereas during the initial dredging work we used a single cutter head or cutter, for this part of the project we need to use a double cutter," says Van den Outenaar. "This has to do with the way it is used by our customer. In the first set, the Bell pump is rigidly attached to the arm of an excavator, while in the second set it is used freely suspended. Because the two cutting heads of the double cutter rotate in opposite directions, the pump remains stationary and you can then lower it into the water on a wire without any problems."