SeaBed Opts for IMS Versi-Dredge

SeaBed Services, a Norwegian dredging company, purchased an IMS Model 7012 HP Versi-Dredge for use in marinas, ports and fjords in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

With a focus on environmentally friendly dredging, they selected the 7012 HP with a supplementary IMS Environmental Plus cutterhead and an elongated turbidity shroud to be used when they dredge contaminated sediment.

SeaBed selected the 7012 HP due to the Starwheel Drive self-propulsion system. The system allows vessel to operate in areas where cables are not practical because of boat traffic or narrow docks. The Versi-Dredge’s one truck transportability was also important as Norway is a mountainous country where roads tend to be narrow. Getting the dredge to the site on Tromøy Island for its first job was easier than expected in spite of a low overpass at the entrance to the marina and shallow water.

The first project was to dredge an inlet/marina where compact shell-sand had accumulated for over 1,000 years. The allocated project time was 30 days but with the 7012 HP the job was completed in less than one week, including a 5 day start-up and training of SeaBed Services’ operators.

In Tromøy the Versi-Dredge pumped the hard shell sand to a makeshift dewatering pond half a kilometer away.

Adrian Rösiö, IMS Northern Europe Territory Manager, was present during the factory visit, start-up and initial project in Tromøy. “We were able to supply the dredge from stock to meet a very tight delivery deadline. When one of the containers fell behind due to the vessel schedule, IMS was able to airfreight the required dredging hoses to Arendal so SeaBed’s project did not miss a beat.”

SeaBed Services’ operating personnel were trained by IMS in conjunction with the arrival of the dredge at Arendal Port and were operating it independently within a matter of days. “My staff and I really like this machine and I look forward to having an entire fleet of them,” commented Gisle Espeland, SeaBed Services’ General Manager.

Project Manager Frank Dale also commented: “We are the first in Scandinavia to have a self-propelling dredge that is one-truck transportable and we pride ourselves in being early adopters of innovative technology so that we can offer the most environmentally friendly dredging services without being too costly.”

In addition to dredging silt, sand and contaminated sediments in ports and marinas, SeaBed Services also aims to use the 7012 HP for environmental remediation projects such as swamps in nature reserves and eutrophic lakes that need deepening.

“We are pleased we were able to meet the high expectations of a world class company like SeaBed Services,” commented Ryan Horton, IMS Global Sales Director. “These are sophisticated clients that have developed their own proprietary environmental dredging technologies. You know you are doing something right when a company like SeaBed wants to buy your technology.”

[mappress]

Press Release, July 9, 2014