Damen Shiprepair Oranjewerf (DSO) of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, recently completed extensive conversion of the sand barge Kreeft.
The sand barge – which is owned by Boskalis – spent last three months at DSO undergoing major works in preparation for her next project.
As Damen reported, the 96-meter by 12.5-meter barge has been active for many years, and the first order of business was extensive repair work on her double-plated hull. The inspection revealed that part of the hull required repair or replacement.
The second stage of the project was to give the barge new capabilities, in this case the ability to manoeuvre independently when being on site. This required the fitting of a bow thruster and all the associated systems.
To achieve this, a generator room was created inside the forepeak space. There, two generators and pumps for handling the cargo compartment were installed along with all the necessary pipework and electrical components and cabling, plus connections to the bow thruster itself.
A range of deck and hold modifications were also made, including adding a drainage system in the hold with a pump connection overboard.
“ This was a major undertaking and involved a wide range of skills ,” said Jeen van der Werf, commercial manager at Damen Shiprepair Oranjewerf . “ With the works completed and with over 50 tonnes of steel added or replaced, the entire barge was blasted and repainted, leaving her looking as good as new.”
After the completion of project, the Kreeft left DSO and was towed to the land reclamation project currently taking place in North Amsterdam. This requires a total of 15,000,000m³ of sand to be transported to the site and offloaded, and so involves the support of many barges.