The towering spuds of a hired backhoe dredger will be visible at Eastland Port this week as maintenance dredging in front of wharf 7 and 8, and in the navigation channel begins, Eastland Group said in their latest announcement.
The 32 meter high spuds, or anchors, are part of a GPK backhoe dredge hired from Heron Construction.
The dredging is set to begin today in order to re-establish the normal depth of 10.5 meters in front of wharf 7 and 8.
Eastland Port general manager, Andrew Gaddum , says that they can dredge a wide range of materials very precisely, and operate well in shallow and enclosed waters.
“The dredger is being used to clear away hard material such as papa rock and mudstone which has built up and created high spots in front of the wharves where the biggest ships berth,” said Gaddum.
The port’s suction hopper dredge Pukunui will take dredged material to the port’s normal disposal site 3.7km from the end of the channel out in Poverty Bay.
The maintenance dredging campaign is expected to last for four days, and will include dredging in the navigational channel. Approximately 4,500 thousand cubic tonnes of dredged sediment will be removed from the areas.
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