New dredger welcomed to the Mersey

- The UK Port of Liverpool welcomed a new dredger to the River Mersey: the Dutch-built 5500 tonne, 90 m long Shoalway is a new trailing suction hopper dredger capable of operating to a depth of 30 m.

The Shoalway is designed to maintain the Mersey as a port able to accommodate the larger vessels that are able to maximise the advantages of the widened Panama Canal.

Peel Ports Mersey has signed an initial three-year deal with Westminster Dredging with a further two-year option in which Shoalway will spend a large part of its time operating in the UK, particularly at Liverpool and Peel’s other ports in the region.

Peel Ports Mersey's managing director Gary Hodgson said the company’s own fleet had come to the end of its working life and the final vessel The Mersey Mariner, which used outdated bucket-dredging technology, was decommissioned last year. A decision had to be made whether to replace it or bring in a specialist and Westminster was chosen as it was able to supply both expertise and state of the art equipment.

Peel Ports marine director Captain Steve Gobbi said: "The Mersey is a highly-tidal river, with one of the largest differences between low and high tide in the UK of up to 10 m. That is increasing year-on-year as sea levels rise due to climate change. The Mersey has an absolute need to guarantee minimum depths allowing access to the Port of Liverpool for the world's increasingly large vessels, using technology that also considers the environment. The Shoalway is designed to efficiently meet these requirements, and she is a highly welcome addition to our operations."

Source: Container management