Dredging

[j.sabourn]

To me dredging always meant to me the deepening of channels etc. had never given much thought to it until I took a job associated with it. Weeks prior to leaving the uk for sunnier climes, I received a phone call asking for the usual favour. Would I ??? It was to take this vessel around the SE coast of UK blah blah blah. The Master had to get off as was his wedding anniversary etc etc. The money was reasonable and had at that time not paid for the air fares said I would do for a couple of weeks. The master phoned me and said to get the night sleeper from Newcastle to London and then to Dover, he would arrange transport out to the ship which was in the English Channel. Arriving Dover this great ex Motor Torpedo Boat was all revving up and ready to go, it must have cost a fortune. Arriving alongside This ship the Mariner, my transport was nearly as big, I threw my bag onboard and my leg after it, another bag was thrown onboard and another leg followed it. Followed by a body and an earringed head with enough hair for many more. Everythings fine see you, and gone MTB and everything. The ship itself was an ex Navy salvage vessel with the horns on the bow, all the cabins lead straight out over a 12 inch coaming onto the weather deck. She had a crawler crane lashed down on deck with chain and was taken bottom and core samples of the sea bed. There were 6 surveyors on board, so I took my directions from them. On asking about the master was told he had only been there 3 days, he was apparently a Greenpeace skipper so whether the job was against his principles or what I dont know. I thought he looked like the one whose boat was blown up in Auckland by the French years ago. I am sure these ex navy salvage vessels were meant for inland waters, by the design of the accomodation, who knows. Anyhow she was on Charter to Wesminster dredging and were doing surveys for the future of procuring various pebbles and sand from the sea bed for various industrys. Nothing to do with dredging as I imagined, apparently this is or was big business. Of course the fishermen were up in arms about it etc. On completion of survey into the Thames and in places I didnt know existed, I took the vessel back to Lowestoft where it was put back into mothballs. I made enough however for the air fares. Cheers John Sabourn

[Captain Kong]

Hi John,
Dredging for Aggregates is big business, usually the geologists survey various sites out at sea for the right quality of sand or stone to be used in the building and construction trades. This is done with the assistance of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
A designated `patch` is then allowed for dredging of these materials. It is shown on the chart and is strictly monitored by Min of Ag Fi. They sometimes send down a camera to look at the sea bed to see if any of the suction trails have left the designated area. If it has, then there is a Fine.
Usually the fishermen or Lobster men complain if their equipment has been sucked up, but if they are on the `Patch` they cant do anything about it.
Many of these Aggregate Dredgers are BIG, 10,000 to 15,000 tons are normal .the Dutch have many bigger ones.
The `Patches` are around the coast , mostly around the English Channel and North Sea areas and we even dredged in the Baltic running cargoes into Poland and Eastern Germany at the time. There are one or two off the Welsh coast.
Some customers require, sand only from a certain patch or a mix of sand and stone or just stone only depending on the quality or for whatever use they want to use it for, many grades of sand and stone have various qualities
All the big new buildings at Canary Wharf in London, the City, was built from sand and stone from the sea.
Cheers
Brian.

[j.sabourn]

Thanks Brian, over the years I have followed similar stories. The ship itself and the technology involved were 2 opposites. This old ex RN salvage vessel, the wheel was about the same size as the Cutty Sarks, had a monitor screen lashed to the top of the telemotor and had to keep the ship in a certain area whilst lowering and recovering. I did a similar sort of thing years later doing a survey for the laying of an optus telephone cable starting about 2 cables off Bondi Beach to Auckland, the job was supposed to take 6 months, it took if I remember correctly 16 months. As went in to very deep water between Sydney and Norfolk Island. This was a more sophisticated job with again a very old and unsuitable vessel, however the job was finally done, with this one we had Dutch surveyors, when we used to go back into Sydney for repairs etc, used to tie up at the berth where all the passenger vessels go, it only cost then 50 dollars a night for berthing fees, so owners couldnt complain and we were handy for getting ashore. Regards John Sabourn.

[Capt Bill Davies]

Having no actual experience of working on dredgers I was always aware of the worth when trading to Puerto Ordaz on the Orinoco when in the Ore ships. Old DK built a class of ships which were in fact too large to transit the river/bar and went the extra mile in building the suction dredger 'Zulia' in the late 50s to ensure the vessels could reach/load and sail from Puerto Ordaz safely. Later in the late 70s early 80s I used to go up their in Panamax ships in other US outfits and you were virtually sliding in the mud more often or not especially when the prediction was not achieved. Full ahead for the last hour and making 5/6 knots. Sea suctions struggling anf Chiefy not a happy man.

Bill

[j.sabourn]

Know what you mean about sliding in the mud Bill. Believe this was the cause of the collission between the Exmoor and the Dutch Passenger vessel Ruys in the early 60"s. This was going into Buenos Aires via the North Channel, chart had the channel dredged to 27 feet, obviously it wasnt. Nobody would come out at the enduiry in B.A. and say this, for some reason I was kept away from this enquiry, and as had been on watch shortly before the collission,thought I was being set up for the fall guy. However on return to uk some months later the Company solicitors asked me what I thought was the direct cause, so I told them. They thanked me and said why didnt the others say this, and that was what they (as landlubbers) had suspected all along. I sometimes wonder that people and ships which get themselves into trouble, immediately the blame game starts. All that is required is to tell the truth. Cheers John Sabourn.

[Capt Bill Davies]

John,

Well understood. After making my last post on this topic I recalled that in the 80 odd mile transit of the Orinoco you have the odd 'Bugsier' salvage 'hovering' to in areas known to be troublesome. Almost like 'Agents of Doom'. Very disconcerting.
Made it through my career without ever signing a LOF.

Brgds

Bill

[Gulliver]

Old DK built a class of ships which were in fact too large to transit the river/bar and went the extra mile in building the suction dredger 'Zulia' in the late 50s to ensure the vessels could reach/load and sail from Puerto Ordaz safely.
Bill

Feature on ZULIA (Click)
Source: 'Google'

Fate of Zulia: Broken Up after 25 years on 25/2/84 at Kaohsiung,T'ai-wan.

[Gulliver]

An earlier mentioned dredger in the Zulia article and also owned by Daniel K.Ludwig was the SEALANE.

History

T2 Tanker(t.e.) GOLD CREEK built as Yard No.341 in 6/1945 by Alabama DD & SB Co,Mobile. 10,172 Grt for the U.S.Govmt.
Damaged by stranding, 25 June 1946, off Gay Head, Marthas Vineyard, Mass (41.17N-70.49W), on voyage Houston - Providence with oil, refloated, heavy bottom damage, sold 1946 to- National Bulk Carriers, Inc., Wilmington, Del.- Owners Daniel K. Ludwig, New York.
47 Renamed - PAN GEORGIA. s/o shortened by 11.2m,and tonnage reduced to 9,179 grt , by Todd Shipyards Corp., New York,
Re-engined 1948 from turbo-electric to steam turbine; [ these engines made 1946, 9,350SHP. Boilers made 1941, installed 1948].
Exploded and burned, 23 July 1953, while discharging high octane gasoline & fuel oil at Wilmington, Del., towed to Baltimore & laid up.
Arrived Kure 5/55 for conversion.
1955 Renamed SEALANE by Universe Tankships, Inc., Monrovia ( Daniel K.Ludwig). converted to suction dredger of 6,663 grt, by National Bulk Carriers, Inc., Kure Shipyards Div., Kure, Japan, cmptld. 6/56.
63 - Owners now registered as Continental Dredging Co., Monrovia .
Reported broken up at Hong Kong 1981, arr. in tow prior 12.1.81, however apparently resold
81 Renamed ASIALANE (Green Diamond Enterprises S.A., Panama )
Broken up (rptd. LCI 1983 “subsequently sold to breakers”)

[Tony Wilding]

i expect during the course of dredging many interesting things are found, but not on a dredger that discharges immediately, expect the grab type had more chance,

[Captain Kong]

Hi Tony, When I was dredging agregates in the North Sea and the English Channel we quite often found Bombs, Shells and Bullets from WW2.
When we had dredged up the Bombs and Shells we always called the Bomb Disposal men who came and took them away.
Some were harmless and some were very fragile, corroded and dangerous.
One Dredger off the Lincolnshire Coast sucked one into its pump and it exploded destroying the pump and making a huge hole in the ships side. it very near sank but managed to run itself aground.
Sea Dredging can be dangerous.
We also had a Sword handle , the blade had corroded away and it went to a Museum, it was dated around 500 years ago.
Cheers
Brian