Challenge
The contractor needed a dredge that could be used year-round, including the wet season, as well as a multipurpose workboat.
Solution
The contractor chose to purchase a Marlin Class dredge and DSC Workboat, based on success with its first Marlin.
A Nigerian contractor purchased a second 18-inch x 18-inch Marlin Class dredge, along with a DSC multipurpose workboat, after its original DSC dredge provided excellent service at the lowest cost of operation. The Marlin Class dredges were primarily needed for channel dredging, land development and reclamation, as well as mining sharp sand out of the Nigerian rivers.
Dredging is beneficial to Nigerian communities by removing silt from the river channels for vessel traffic and then using those dredged materials to build up the low river banks and reclaim usable land. The mining of sharp sand provides valuable construction materials for Nigeria’s booming infrastructure projects. With a digging depth capability of 23 meters (75 feet), the DSC Marlin Class dredge offered the contractor the freedom to operate year-round, including during the wet season, when the rivers rise and most other dredges must stop operations.
The Marlin Class dredge is built to meet the needs of deep mining and aggregate deposits by providing a more efficient tool for material excavation. Every Marlin Class dredge is specifically designed to handle a particular deposit – from sand and gravel to industrial minerals – to ensure maximum efficiency. Deep digging capabilities are made possible by the use of an underwater pump system with a high-torque cutter drive assembly to complement the rigorous demands of the deep mining industry.
The DSC multipurpose workboat is one of the most versatile dredge vessels in Nigerian waters. It has the ability to store and transfer 8,000 liters of fuel, has an A-frame and winch for raising and moving anchors, crew quarters with bunks for four men, air conditioning, shower and toilet. There also is a telescoping hydraulic crane for handling spares and pipeline, as well as pusher knees on the bow and tow-bits on the stern. The twin screw and shallow-draft design is ideal for operations in creeks and rivers, where both power and maneuverability are required.
