The Port of Hamburg recently announced that in the course of the Elbe’s river dredging, construction stones were successfully build into the “Medemrinne” and “Neufelder Sand”. Specifically from March until October 2019, 1.200.000 tons were build in the above mentioned underwater deposit areas (UDAs).
The Machulez KG team which is also Cuxhave’s Port member, was responsible of the logistic requirements among the underwater construction companies, the quarry and the locally responsible institutions.
To accomplish those dams within the UDAs in the Elbe estuary funnel, using a stone mixture was the key. Sediment quantities were carried and stored into the deposit areas, in order to stay right there and not ended washed back into the Elbe or the North Sea.
The biggest challenge of the project was to handle the multiple parallel handling of all ships involved in the project as well as the related pre-carriages and on-carriages. We were able to do this without any waiting times.
…explained the Machulez project team.
Norwegian quarry, underwater construction specialists and various locally responsible institutions, were collaborated and brought those significant results. Moreover, major role for this achievement played the knowledge of the extensive specifications, the quality requirements of the rock and the nautical-technical experience.
The Hansakai site in Cuxhaven was also used as the construction site base port, since the new 50 metre wide RoRo heavy-duty ramp and the established and versatile port handling equipment aided to assembly and disassembly waterway construction vessels.
More than 1 million tons of underwater construction stones have arrived in Cuxhaven between March to September and about 40 ships arrived from Norway in order to be delivered to the two underwater construction sites in two independent logistics cycles, each with three construction site ships.
Concluding, the Elbe deepening project in Port of Hamburg, goals to allow larger vessels entrance to the port through the river. Once the project completed, the port will be able to accommodate 2,800 large containerships. In the light of Port of Hamburg’s dredging projects everything goes as planned and several projects are under construction.
