Damen DOP200 removing silt in shallow water

In high winds an amphibious excavator has done a precision dredging job near a Dutch dyke.

The project aim was to remove a limited volume of silt – some 4.000m³ and create a more stable basis for dyke reinforcement. The removed volume was to be replaced by sand in a second stage of the project.

The Damen DOP200 dredge pump was connected to the boom of a “Waterking” amphibious excavator. The Waterking was fitted out with a power pack at its back, suppling hydraulic power for both the dredge pump and its cutter unit.

To ensure precision dredging, the excavator was provided with a GPS system, plus the standard DOP dredge pump monitoring instrumentation.

The dredge pumped discharged using a partially floating pipe line of in total 150m length. After removal of the silt layer, the dyke was reinforced using sand.