Finnish shipyard entrusted to build a dredger for Polish maritime administration
On Monday, March 1, the Maritime Office in Gdynia has signed with a Finnish yard Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy (Työvene) a contract for a Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger to service the waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdansk. The contract covers the design, construction, outfitting and delivery of a dredger to the port of Elbląg.
– The new dredger for the Maritime Office in Gdynia will ensure that adequate navigational parameters are kept not only on the new waterway on the Vistula Lagoon and the Elbląg River. It will also be used for other maintenance and preservation works, without the need to outsource them, which will undoubtedly bring savings, both in terms of money and time – said Deputy Infrastructure Minister Marek Gróbarczyk.
“The order is a result of a tender, where the design developed by Työvene and Dutch partners C-Job and Holland Marine Technologies, was found not only to fulfil but exceed all the client’s complex needs and requirements” – Työvene stated in a press release.
The dredger will maintain depth parameters on the five metres deep main waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gdansk Bay, including the Elblag River area. It will also dump the dredged soil onto an island in the Vistula Lagoon through floating delivery pipelines. Additionally, the dredger will be used to operate and maintain the depth parameters of the fairways leading to smaller ports of the Vistula Lagoon, where depths can be up to 18 metres.
– The Maritime Office fleet in Gdynia will be enriched by another specialist vessel. The dredger will be used primarily to maintain the navigation on the Vistula Lagoon and the Elbląg river. The agreement just signed results from a tender accompanying a large government infrastructure investment, which is the complex construction of a new waterway almost 25 km long – said director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia Wiesław Piotrzkowski, who signed the agreement today together with chief accountant Andrzej Kajut.
The contract also includes the supply of a floating shore delivery system fitted with floats with a total length of 200 running metres and 400 running metres of laid pipelines. The delivery of this equipment will take place with transport containers and an anchoring system for the balljoint connection over the bow, intended for connection to the dredger discharge system. Training of personnel to operate the unit will also be provided.
– This will be the next vessel made in our shipyard for the Maritime Office in Gdynia. The previous ones built by Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy are hydrographic vessels – the catamaran Konstelacja and Hydrograf-17 and the inspection vessels Kontroler-20 and Kontroler 22. Thanks to our specialists’ experience and reliable approach, we can declare a timely delivery of the dredger – said Juha Granqvist, the managing director of Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy, signing the contract on behalf of the contractor.
According to the Finnish company, the project will have a significant effect on Työvene, directly providing full employment for the shipyard’s staff in Uusikaupunki and numerous sub-contractors. It will also create many job opportunities throughout the delivery chain, making the Southwestern part of Finland even more financially viable.
– I am extremely proud of this project. It is a tribute to the Finnish and Dutch shipbuilding tradition and shows the importance of striving for quality and truly understanding the customer’s needs. Furthermore, I hope this sends out a positive signal to Finnish and international customers that to ensure state-of-the-art products, it is crucial to consider other factors than just the price point, says Juha Granqvist, CEO of Työvene.
The contract value is PLN 116,5m (over EUR 20m). The shipbuilder will have 21 months to build and deliver the dredger.
The dredger principle particulars:
- Approx. overall length (excluding bow connection) – 60.0m
- Max. breadth moulded – 12.0m
- Max. draught moulded – 4.5m
- Hopper capacity – over 950 cubic metres
- Minimum service speed – 8 knots
Below: the waterway connecting the Gdańsk Bay with the Vistula Spit is nearing completion. The first ships will pass through it already this year.
source: PortalMorski.pl/Työvene/NDI Besix