Port Maputo has just concluded a contract for the maintenance dredging of the Port’s access channels. The work will be undertaken by a consortium of local and international partners comprising Emodraga of Mozambique and Rohde Nielsen, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. The dredging campaign will restore the design depth of -11m throughout, which was increased from its original depth of -9.4 m in a capital dredging project executed in 2010/11.
The vessel performing the work is the Idun R, owned by Rohde Nielsen, which is a trailer suction hopper dredger (TSHD). Idun R is currently mobilising and will arrive in Maputo before the end of August to commence the works immediately. The dredging campaign will remove between 500 000 and 800 000 m3 of silt and sand from the access channels and the port. It is expected to take between 4 to 6 weeks to complete, but the contractors will focus on targeting major high spots in the channel initially.
Once the dredging campaign has been successfully completed, and the channel re-surveyed, the Port’s access channels will be re-certified to their design depth of -11 m chart datum.
