Dredger “Anita Conti” Delivered (France)

The 2.600 m3 TSHD “Anita Conti” has been delivered to its owner, DRAGAGES PORTS. Built by the Spanish yard Astilleros de MURUETA and fitted out with Damen Dredging equipment, the new maintenance dredger will mainly work at the French Port of Bordeaux. The delivery crowns a fruitful Spanish-Dutch cooperation.

The trailing suction hopper dredger was baptized “Anita Conti” on 28th of June, after a famous French ocean explorer and photographer. The dredger is the last of a series of three vessels, designed by MURUETA, for which Damen Dredging Equipment delivered customized dredging systems. The previous dredgers “Stellamaris” and “Jean Ango” were built by the same team, yet differed in design because of their different use as sand mining dredgers, or in their hopper volumes.

The “Anita Conti” is equipped with a 800 mm trailing pipe, which operates at a max dredging depth of -22 m. The coaming-integrated gantries and the hydraulically driven winches operate the starboard-mounted trailing pipe. The inboard Damen dredge pump, type BP8075LD, has been chosen for its large spherical passage of Ø450 mm.

The pump is driven by a 1,000 kW electric motor.

The Damen delivery also included the jetwater pumps which operate both parallel and in series depending on their application. Other hopper equipment delivered includes a telescopic overflow and conical bottom valves through which the vessel can dump the cargo. The conical bottom valves are identical to those on the “Jean Ango”: a practicality in servicing. Various sizes of Damen dredge valves were delivered for process control in the suction and discharge pipe lines.

The Astilleros de MURUETA-team designed and built a state-of-the-art dredger of 89.41 m overall length, a moulded breadth of 17.6 m and a depth of 6.5 m. The main engine power is 2 x 2,400 kW. The loaded speed of the vessel is 11.5 kn.

The “Anita Conti” has a gross tonnage of 3,704 and is well equipped for a crew of 18. The TSHD will be based at the Port of Bordeaux in the south west of France, where it will perform maintenance dredging duties on the river “Gironde”. Occasionally it will be sent out to the Port of La Rochelle.

After a wide array of dredge trials on the “Gironde” at the end of July, the TSHD was handed over to DRAGAGES PORT in August. The Spanish-Dutch dredge builder team is convinced that the hopper dredger will have an excellent future.

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Press Release, September 6, 2013