Ship & Boat International: eNews June 2019
Damen reports that it has delivered a custom suction dredger (CSD), Brolga 1, to Energy Resources of Australia (ERA). The vessel, described as the CSD500-S, is based on Damen Dredging Equipment’s 38.5m x 7.95m CSD500 class, albeit customised for operations in acidic waters with a pH rating of 3. These are conditions the ship will certainly encounter when operating around the Ranger Uranium Mine in Jabiru, in Australia’s Northern Territory.
As a result, the dredger’s steel hull and other steel parts have been treated in a special coating, while its discharge pipe line has been fashioned from high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Damen adds: “The dredge valve in the discharge piping has been made in stainless steel and the box coolers are fabricated in 100% titanium.” The CSD500-S is designed to dredge down to depths of 14m, features a dredging capacity of 4,000m3 per hour and is typically equipped with just under 1,300kW of engine power.
Brolga 1 will be complemented by a workboat, Ginga, which has been built to the specs of Damen’s 12.8m x 5.3m Multi Cat 1205 model. Like her mothership, she will be customised with similar considerations for her acidic operational zone. Damen adds that Ginga’s equipment will include “an A-frame, a heavy hydraulic deck crane and a special support frame for the cutter head of the CSD500”.
