Opening up San Fernando marina with Damen DOP150

In the tidal lagoon south-east of Cadiz, southern Spain, is the yachting marina San Fernando. Over the past few decades the access to the yachting harbor “Club Náutico de la Casería” and its berths have silted up heavily due to tidal and river flows carrying silt into the harbor.

To ensure access for the pleasure yachts and small fishing vessels, major dredging activities have been required.

For the job, an amphibious excavator with a Damen DOP150 is being used.

According to Damen, the job itself seemed obvious: pumping out some 19.000 m³ of silt and caked mud to a spoil field nearby.

The DOP pump works at a dredging depth of max -2 metres to -4 metres, using a 200 mm discharge pipe line of some 500 metres length, which partly floats in the harbour before the slurry reaches the storage area further along the coast.

The result of the dredging campaign will be that the marina will be accessible at low tide, boosting local activities and the economy, Damen said.