Dredging focus at Hamburg

The 37m long by 10m wide pontoon-style Sauger 111 is reportedly the first dredger for Hamburg Port built by Damen shipyards and the Dutch say it is tailor-made to suit the particular dredging problems of the sprawling Hanse port city.

Hamburg lies 110km inland on the Elbe and has a tidal range of 3.6m making it very dependent on regular dredging. Silt removal has in fact of late become a sensitive and controversial political issue in the port.

Sauger 111 replaces an older unit with the same name and is the latest specialist HPA dredger and part of a fleet modernisation programme covering a range of workboats.

Last year another custom-built dredger, the 35 x 13m Dutch-built MODI joined the fleet to deep dredge areas difficult to reach with conventional equipment. HPA also has a bucket dredger in service.

In addition to the new dredger, the first two of four new ice-breaker all-rounders from Hitzler Werft have also joined HPA this year in Hamburg and will be followed by an even bigger pair before 2016 ends.

The largest of the four newbuild multi-purpose new boats, the 30m Johannes Dalmann, will be launched this summer.