Jan De Nul Group has been contracted to dredge the channel and further enhance the safe and sustainable access to Australia’s Port Hedland.
The project is said to form part of stage two of Pilbara Ports Authority’s (PPA) Channel Risk and Optimisation Project (CROP) initiative to sustain the long-term operation, development and future growth of Australia’s largest iron ore export facility
Over the past several years, Jan De Nul Group has been the lead contractor on the majority of the capital dredging works as well as the maintenance dredging works within the port precinct of Port Hedland.
“We are once again delighted to partner with PPA to further develop and enhance the existing port facilities,” said David Jonckheere, area manager Oceania and Asia at Jan De Nul Group.
During the first quarter of 2019, Jan De Nul Group will mobilise the large self-propelled cutter suction dredger Niccoló Machiavelli (built 2011) with a total installed capacity of about 24,000 kW.
The project is expected to be completed by mid-2019 and will provide, once completed, an emergency passing lane alongside the shipping channel, enhanced water refuge zones and increased water depth in targeted areas of the access channel.
It will deliver a refuge zone and an emergency passing lane to the 42 km unidirectional shipping channel, as well as remove high spots in the outer section of the channel to optimise navigable depths.
Dredging of the refuge zone was completed in late 2018, and Jan De Nul will remove remaining high spots in the passing lane and channel to complete the project.
The project has been undertaken in stages in conjunction with annual maintenance dredging campaigns, and this final stage is due to commence in April 2019.
The CROP is funded under the port improvement rate (PIR), a temporary levy charged on vessels entering and exiting the Port of Port Hedland to fund capital improvements.
“The CROP will bring significant tangible benefits to port users in addressing channel risk and enhancing safe and efficient shipping at Port Hedland,” said the western Australian government’s ports minister Alannah MacTiernan.
“The safety of staff, contractors and port users is an absolute priority, and the CROP will improve safety for vessels transiting the narrow, unidirectional channel.
“It will also will ensure more efficient vessel access to the tidally restricted port, improving the service for all port users and supporting trade, industry and jobs in the Pilbara.”
