Paraná ports begins work of removing rocks obstructing bay entrance

Portos do Paraná began elaborating the executive project for the removal of part of the rock complex known as Pedra da Palangana. The formation, which is submerged in the Paranaguá Port region, is located in the maneuvering area, limiting ship capacity and traffic at the entrance to the bay. The estimated investment for the project and work is around R$ 23.28 million, to be paid for with the public company’s own resources. Technically called an ‘overthrow’, the work has been anxiously awaited by the entire port community for years.

“These rocks limit the depth at the entrance to the bay. With their removal, together with the investments in permanent dredging, we will have effective operational gains. When the work is finished, the Port of Paranaguá will have an unprecedented condition to receive larger ships. This will have a direct impact on both our movement volume and the economy as a whole”, says the CEO of the public company, Luiz Fernando Garcia.

The expectation is that in 12 months the stone will no longer be a navigation obstacle in the port.

Execution of the work

The work and the executive project will be developed by the Boskalis Consortium – Fabio Bruno – SLI – DEC, winner of the bid. The project is expected to be completed within three months and the work, which includes the mobilization of equipment, drilling, dismantling, and rock removal will last eight months, counting from the completion and approval of the project. According to the Engineering and Maintenance Directorate of Portos do Paraná, hydrographic surveys and depth surveys will initially be carried out to support the elaboration of the executive project.

The execution of this work will allow the deepening of the main access channel in the region of the Palanganas rock mass, making it compatible with the depths obtained in the deepening dredging – around 14 meters. “It will be possible to obtain an operational draft gain with greater security for navigation, ensuring that the dimensions of the waterway access channel meet the demand of larger ships, which will make Portos do Paraná more commercially competitive”, says Bruna Calloni, from the Marine Engineering Department (GMAR), Coordinator of Bathymetry and Dredging,

According to the engineer, the demolition will reduce the waiting time for mooring and unberthing maneuvers and will therefore increase operational time, which is the period when the ships are able to maneuver.

Overthrow

The work will remove six portions of the rock mass that make up a mass of 22,300 cubic meters. The formations are part of Pedra da Palangana, which has a mass of more than 200 thousand cubic meters.

“The fragmentation of the portion of the rock mass to be felled will be caused by underwater explosions. Monitoring and environmental control programs are planned throughout the work to mitigate possible risks”, guarantees the representative of GMAR, from Portos do Paraná. According to the engineer, the work must follow the execution window so as not to affect the passage of ships and port operations.

The overthrow already has an environmental license, issued by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), for execution. This is included in the installation license 1144/2016, of the 2017 dredging drill.

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