During a festive ceremony, a Damen Shoalbuster 2711 WID (water injection dredging) has been christened and named UKD Seadragon. Damen Shipyards delivered the vessel to UK Dredging, a subsidiary of Associated British Ports.
The ceremony took place in the Roath Basin in Cardiff, Wales, with Mrs Rhian Lewis acting as the godmother and officially naming the vessel UKD Seadragon.
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Multi-purpose dredging and support vessel
The Damen Shoalbuster 2711 WID was designed specifically for UK Dredging as a multi-purpose dredging and support vessel. It will be used for surveys, buoy handling, bed-levelling and water injection dredging. The UKD Seadragon has a diesel-electric propulsion system fed by three independent generators, which enables the vessel to sail on only one engine. This fuel efficiency is one of the many examples of the aim to reduce emissions.
‘We are very pleased to add the UKD Seadragon to our fleet,’ says Mark Pearson, UKD General Manager. ‘The UK Seadragon has already completed various WID trials at different locations such as Cardiff, Swansea and Newport. We have seen impressive dredging performances at low fuel consumption. Moreover, the versatility and the manoeuvrability of this advanced vessel clearly enhance our fleet.’
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Ports and harbours in Wales
For the past weeks, the UKD Seadragon has been performing maintenance dredging duties in the various ports and harbours in Wales using its WID equipment. This equipment includes an electrically driven E-DOP450L submersible dredge pump, built onto a skid that is lowered to the sea bed using its dedicated A-frame.
The dredging action involves the submerged dredge pump supplying water that is injected into the built-up sediment, which is thus refloated and taken away by the current. The UKD Seadragon has shown excellent results during these first dredging campaigns.
Picture by Damen.
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