Posted on October 23, 2023
Purpose-designed for a new waterway in northern Poland, the 63m trailing suction hopper dredger Ursa was launched last month by Finnish shipbuilder Tyovene.
Among the smallest ‘trailers’ worldwide, with a load capacity of 950m3, the vessel will be used to maintain a 5m depth in the Nowy Swiat Ship Canal, otherwise known as the Vistula Spit Canal, and in the fairway across the Vistula Lagoon to the port of Elblag. While customised for shallow-water duties on the new shipping connection between the lagoon and the Bay of Gdansk, and in the River Elblag, the Ursa is also equipped with the means of ensuring fairway depths up to 18m in the approaches to the seaports of Gdansk and Gdynia.
The Gdynia Maritime Office implemented the PLN116.5m ($28m) shipbuilding contract in February 2022 with the Tyovene yard, located on the Finnish west coast at Uusikaupunki, which is due to effect delivery during the first quarter of 2024. Recourse has been made to Dutch expertise in the dredging field, consultancy C-Job having been retained for the concept and subsequent design phases and Holland Marine Technologies for the dredge equipment.
The twin-propeller newbuild will deploy a single, trailing suction arm from the hull’s starboard side, using an integral dredge pump offering the requisite dual shallow and deeper water operating capability. In the vessel’s primary role, dredged material will be deposited to create an island in the Vistula Lagoon, using over-the-bow discharge and a system of floating pipelines.
Poland’s construction of the waterway through the Vistula Spit is a strategic investment, as it obviates the need for shipping from the Bay of Gdansk and southern Baltic to have to access the Vistula Lagoon and the Elblag area via Pilawa Strait, near Baltiysk, in Russian waters to the north-east.
While the canal ‘cut’ has been completed, the project is ongoing, with further phases entailing the Elblag Riverbank enclosure, channel deepening and a new crossing at Nowakowo. The waterway as a whole, comprising canal, lagoon fairway, and river channel, amounts to a length of some 25km from the Bay of Gdansk to Elblag.
For shipbuilding contractor Tyovene, a producer of workboats and other small vessels, the Ursa represents an entry into a new area of the market.
Further product diversification is expected to ensue following this year’s acquisition of a 50% stake in Tyovene by Baltic Workboats of Estonia, and the creation of the joint company Nordic Yards Group. The move marries Tyovene’s scope for newbuilds in the 50m-120m range with the Estonian firm’s capacity for tailor-made work vessels of up to 60m at its Nasva yard.
