Dredge Utrecht arrives at Port of Rio Grande for maintenance dredging

The dredger Utrecht arrived at the Port of Rio Grande last week to undertake the second phase of the maintenance dredging for the access channel to the port. The vessel, part of the company Van Oord Maritime Operations Services fleet, the winning bidder in the tender, will be responsible for maintaining the depths of the navigation channel and removing 2.7 million cubic meters of sediments. The Dutch-flagged dredger Utrecht, built in 1996, has a sediment storage capacity of 18,292 cubic meters.

According to the Infrastructure Directorate of Portos RS, an investment of R$ 94.5 million will be made, and the dredging will cover the areas of the external and internal channels, as well as Porto Novo. The Port Authority estimates that activities will commence shortly after the necessary procedures.

The project, duly authorized by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA), will involve the disposal of dredged sediments in a licensed area. Environmental monitoring will be conducted by Portos RS technicians, as well as ongoing monitoring programs of the Port of Rio Grande, such as the SiMCosta.

The contract for the project’s execution includes water quality monitoring, which began on the 16th, marking the pre-dredging phase, and will continue throughout the process.

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