The General Authority for Fish Resources Development (GAFRD) in Egypt recently took delivery and received training in the operation of two 10-inch Wolverine Class Dredges, designed and manufactured by DSC Dredge facility in Michigan.
The GAFRD, responsible for Egypt’s fisheries management, will use the Wolverine dredges to improve the water quality of three wetland lakes in the Nile Delta and a saline lagoon in Sinai. The dredges will help maintain water passages and channels by removing silt, pollutants and sedimentation, allowing more sea water to flow into the different areas of the lakes, which will improve water quality and increase nutrition.
In addition to the two Wolverine dredges, the organization’s fleet also includes four cutter suction dredges manufactured in Europe and 36 amphibious excavators. This is the first time the GAFRD has partnered with a U.S. manufacturer.
The 68-foot-long Wolverine Class cutter suction dredges can dredge up to 25 feet below the surface and offers a 10-inch discharge configuration, which allows particle clearance of up to 6 inches. The Wolverine is powered by a 440-horsepower Caterpillar C13 ACERT diesel engine.
The cutterhead, designed with six cast-steel smooth blades, is attached to a variable-speed, reversible, hydraulic cutter motor manufactured by Kawasaki. The dredge pump, a J30 Metso Minerals/Thomas Simplicity series, is rated for 200 feet of total discharge head at 4,200 gallons per minute. Five hydraulic winches, rated with a 4,500-pound line pull capacity, are used to swing the dredge, lift the spuds and lift the ladder.
The dredges recently started up and are currently operating in Lakes Al Burullus near Alexandria and Al Manzalah near Port Said.
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