IHC 0 MP Cutter Suction Dredgers for the Chinese ... - Dredgepoint

IHC 7025MP Cutter SuctionDredgers for theChinese dredging marketBEIYA 1 HAOThe market trend in China to go for anincrease in scale of dredgers firstbecame apparent in the mid ninetieswith the new building of cutter suctiondredgers for a Chinese WaterwayBureau. These dredgers were designedfor a nominal production of 1750m 3 /hrand they were the first dredgers inChina to be equipped with spudcarriers. The submerged dredge pumpapplication was considered optionaland was realised at a later stage. It wasthe prelude to a change in the marketfrom small-scale dredging to operationsat a large to huge scale. The trend canbe described as: large dredging depth;great discharge length; high productionoutput and sufficient accommodationfor 24 hours operation and a sturdyseaworthy hull allowing for bad weatherconditions.In 1999 IHC developed its first ideas tobeat this existing design with a betterperforming concept, and at thatparticular time - with respect to theratio of European currency versus theRMB - a competitive option waspossible. It was too early, however, toconvince the market at that time.BEIYA 1 HAOAround 2004 Tianjin Dredgingpurchased a second-hand dredger thatcame close to the design as mentionedabove. The client was also aware of theearlier design of IHC, however, and inthe course of 2004 IHC received theinquiry. By giving the design extratechnical advantages compared with theexisting designs in the market IHC wasawarded with the contract by the newlyestablished Chinese contractor“Qingdao North Asia ConstructionEngineering Co Ltd” of a dredger with aproduction of about 2,300m 3 /hr and anaccommodation for 13 persons.This dredger, named BEIYA 1 HAO, wasdelivered in January 2006. Immediatelyafterwards the BEIYA 1 HAO was put towork in one of the many big dredgingprojects near the city of Tanghai (inHebei Province), together with about 35other dredgers from different dredgingcontractors.This dredging project of the BEIYA 1HAO was part of the “Businessdevelopment plan” in the Bohai Sea.Around Tianjin, in several portsdevelopment works were and arecarried out simultaneously.Dalian, Tianjin and Qingdao wereassisted by the ports of Qinghuangdao,Yingkou and Yantai and together formeda mega ports group.Qinghuangdao is the main port in theprovince of Hebei. It is surrounded bysatellite ports like Huang Hua Port andJingtang, which handle bulk goods. Theport of Cao Fei Dian will become thespecialised port with a deep waterberth for ore and crude oil. In Cao FeiDian a new facility is also beingdeveloped for the Capital Steel Factorywhich is scheduled to be moved fromBeijing to the coastal area, requiring thereclamation of about 300km 2 land;150km 2 of this has to be reclaimed atTianjin Port.Another development area is Tang GuLing Gang, an industrial area where12km 2 of land will be reclaimed. Theseare just some examples of the manyprojects in this area that create anenormous boost in the dredging market,attracting many dredging contractors.These dredging contractors are partlyexperienced and partly withoutexperience, both trying to benefit fromthese developments.28

GANG HANG YUN 8 HAOIn 12 months’ time the BEIYA 1 HAO hada production of over 10 million m 3 .The dredged material was silty sandthat had to be pumped over 6km. Theaverage dredging depth was about 20meters. The client remains veryenthusiastic about the performance ofthe BEIYA 1 HAO.IHC 7025 MP ordersSince the contract for the BEIYA 1 HAOwas signed, IHC closed severalcontracts for this type of dredger. Thedredger was designated an IHC 7025MPcutter suction dredger, which can beexplained as follows: the first two digitsrefer to the suction diameter incentimetres and the last two digits referto the dredging depth in meters.The letters “MP” refer to Mono PontoonExecution.So far 13 dredgers have been contractedfor delivery in 2007 and 2008, 2 ofwhich are already in operation.The clients are based in Guangzhou,Tangu and Beijing. Guangzhou Dredgingalready invested in a Dredge Wheelapplication. With the exception of thereputed dredge company GuangzhouDredging, all other contractors are newplayers in the market.Though all dredgers are based on thesame concept and dredge systems, IHChas made adjustments based on theindividual wishes of clients. With themodular design approach of IHC thisoption can be fulfilled. Clients pay alicence fee for the use of a package ofstandard drawings.Design of the IHC 7025MPThe design of the IHC 7025MP focuseson typical Chinese requirements, suchas large dredging depth, strong sidewinches to enable dredging in current,large accommodation (to facilitateworking in remote areas) and manycost-reducing features such as a basicinstrumentation and control packageand the application of locally purchasedauxiliary equipment.The IHC 7025MP is a hydraulic dredger,meaning that besides the spud carrier,the cutter drive and all winches used fordredging operations are dieselhydraulicdriven as well.The idea behind the design is to workwith modules which in itself representproven technology and can be combinedin various different ways to meet thespecific demands of customers.By using the same basic design shortdelivery times for design drawings canbe achieved.A General Arrangement with the maindimensions of an IHC 7025MP with adredging wheel is shown below.There are two different types ofaccommodation for the IHC 7025MP, onefor 12 persons and one for 21 persons.Both accommodation units are placedon vibration dampers for increasedcomfort onboard.Because the IHC 7025 MP is designed• Dredging depth max. 25.00m• Suction diameter 700mmGeneral arrangement IHC 7025MP29

Cutter ladder of the BEIYA 1 HAOfor dredging in river estuaries wherestrong currents can be encountered, theIHC 7025MP is equipped with strongswing winches.The pumping hearts of the IHC 7025MPcutter suction dredger are two highefficiencydredge pumps, one singleIHC swivel unit of the BEIYA 1 HAOwalled submerged dredge pump andone double walled inboard dredgepump. Both the inboard and submergeddredge pump are of this same type,allowing for the interchanging ofimpellers and some other wear parts,limiting the number of spares to be kepton board of the dredger. All wear partsof the pumps are made of wear-resistantmaterials such as Maxidur 5, resultingin a long life. For an increased dischargelength (up to 12km) IHC has alsodesigned a land based-booster station.The submerged dredge pump iselectrical driven; the electric engine ispositioned on the upper part of thecutter ladder. The inboard dredge pumpis driven through a special integratedgearbox-bearing assembly whichreduces the length of the drive train.The dredgers are designed and built incompliance with the rules of the ChinaClassification Society (CCS) and meetall current international rules andregulations as far as relevant to thistype of vessel. Even though the IHC7025MP has become a standarddredger, for every IHC 7025MP contractspecific client requirements wereincorporated.To keep investment costs as low aspossible, the IHC 7025MP cutter dredgeris equipped with a basicinstrumentation and control package,consisting of an Automatic PumpController (APC), Production Calculator(PRC) and a Swing and Depth IndicationSystem (SDI). But if required, a moresophisticated level of automation, forexample an Automatic Swing Control isavailable. A further option is theinstallation of a management tool,consisting of a shore-based monitoringsystem of the production rate, fuelconsumption, downtime etc.Feedback during the construction,commissioning, operational experienceand suggestions of our clients havebeen used to improve the basic design.An example of this comprised theincrease of the spud carrier stroke from4,8m to 6,2m without changing themain dimensions of the dredger. Alarger spud carrier stroke contributes toa higher efficiency of the dredger as thestepping procedure requires less time.Other improvements include a localcontrol near the cutter head for inchingthe cutter motor for mounting anddismounting of the cutter head.Dredging wheel optionThe IHC 7025MP can be delivered withtwo different types of cutter heads fordifferent soil conditions. For soft soil anIHC cutter head is delivered with flaredteeth, for compact sand and soft rock acutter head with narrow teeth isprovided. A special advantage of thisdredger is that it can also be equippedwith an IHC dredging wheel. Thisdredging wheel is interchangeable withthe cutter ladder lower piece andenables dredging of sticky clay with aminimal investment. All existing IHC7025MP dredgers can be equipped witha dredging wheel, making it a versatilepiece of equipment suitable for varioussoil conditions.Spud carriage GANG HANG YUN 8 HAOIHC Scope of supplyChina charges high import taxes and inorder to meet the market demand for agood quality dredger at a feasible price,the scope of supply is based on apractical demarcation of systemliabilities. For the contracts concludedall yards respect the intellectualproperty rights of IHC Holland andsigned nondisclosure agreements. As alot of know-how is contained in somedredge components which are not underthe normal quality survey of CCS, IHCproduces these items as ready-to-fitmodules in China at their premises.30