Vitória Canal to undergo maintenance dredging

The maintenance dredging of the Vitória Canal, done to maintain good navigability standards, started late in December. The dredging service will cover the access channel, the maneuvering basin, and the mooring berths on the banks of Vitória and Vila Velha (Capuaba). The contract determines a period of  90 days to finish the service, which actually expected to end before the deadline.

On the 25th, the five training maneuvers required by the Marine Authority were carried out with the Lelystad dredger, the ship which will perform de service, with a marine pilot on board thus eliminating the need for the presence of the pilot during the dredging period.

Operational gains

The maintenance service yields direct operational gains, such as the resuming of activities requiring a draft above 12.50m draft and, therefore, securing that ships loaded with greater volumes of cargo will have free access to the port. According to Raquel Guimarães, the coordinator of Marketing and Business (Comark), the dredging will increase the competitive status of the port and, thus, increase the handling forecast for the upcoming years.

Vessels will also benefit from the dredging. Container vessels will also experience average gains due to the port’s increased capacity to handle an additional deadweight of 15,000 tons and other 1500 TEUs, which should generate a reduction in maritime freight up to 10% reduction and a reduction in logistical costs up to 20% at the Port of Victoria.

Navigation

According to the engineer Ednaldo Lepaus Baldan, the dredging will re-establish the operational capacities at the Vitória Canal in conformity with the Regulation for Traffic and Permanence of Ships and Vessels at the Port of Vitória.

“We will concentrate efforts to make the lingering effects of the operations minimal,” underscored Baldan. The company Van Oord was hired to perform the dredging, while Umisan will be in charge of the operational management and Environlink will oversee environmental issues. The last time the channel went through a similar process was in 2017, with a depth dredging.

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