Posted on April 11, 2019
IT works 12-hour days every day of the week, but it’s a much larger shift that the crew of the David Allan are marking this year.
The 70 metre Port of Newcastle dredger works to keep the nine-kilometre channel from the breakwalls to Kooragang 10 berth at 15.2 metres deep.
It is a task that began continuously in March 1859, when crews used ladder dredges to remove mud, sand, boulders and surface rock to let ships pass safely.
The dredged material is taken to a designated area about a kilometre out to sea. The build-up is part of the Hunter river’s normal function, with most of the silt coming from the broader and shallower north arm.
Most of it collects in the sweep off Stockton known as the Horseshoe.
Port of Newcastle dredge manager Calvin Grills said it was vital to acknowledge the importance of dredging in Newcastle’s success.
“Tens of thousands of ships, collectively transporting several billion tonnes of cargo, have navigated the channel over the past 160 years,” Mr Grills said.
Source: theherald.com.au
