Much of the damage caused by Storm Frank, which hit the North East of Scotland on the 30th of December last year, has been well publicized in the press.
In particular, the impact of the rise in height and flow rate of the River Dee, was very apparent to all. What has been less visible is the damage, caused by the storm, to Aberdeen Harbor.
The resulting remedial work, which has begun, will address the loss of depth, caused by circa 28,000 cubic meters of material being washed down the River Dee during the storm, and deposited on the harbor floor. This material needs to be removed so that the required water depth is restored.
Simultaneously, the work will address the ‘over depth’ damage caused by the storm. This is when the increased flow of the river causes ‘scouring’ to the harbor floor, resulting in ‘dips’ in certain areas and a subsequent increased in water depth. Circa 14,000 tonnes of fill material will therefore be imported into the harbor to level these areas out.
Fortunately, all of this damage is confined to the west of the navigation channel and away from the main areas of vessel activity. The overall damage is also minimal considering the exceptional weather conditions experienced, and the harbor infrastructure generally weathered the storm well.
Vessels involved in the remedial work include Boskalis Westminster’s backhoe dredger ‘Manu Pekka’ and other support vessels.
The work is estimated to take approximately 20 days.
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