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Damen delivered on the 18th of August two complete DOP packages to Acciona Infraestructuras, a Spanish construction company. The DOP submersible dredge pumps are being used in a large harbour construction project in Brazil. The DOP pumps empty concrete caissons to be able to reposition these as a breakwater. This is a job perfectly suited to the DOP, which fits into confined spaces.
The harbour construction project, at Sao Joao de Barra, 150 miles North of Rio de Janeiro, started a few years ago. Acciona was awarded the contract for the engineering, design and construction of two artificial breakwaters. Acciona decided to use its pioneering system of concrete caissons built in an auxiliary dock. Five of these sand-filled caissons now have to be emptied to be moved to their final position, together with another 37 caissons which have already been positioned.
Damen has delivered two DOP packages, which both include a DOP submersible dredge pump, type DOP250, a 403 kW diesel hydraulic power pack, a separate diesel driven jetwater pump feeding the dredge pump’s suction head plus a number of hoses, connections and spares. The DOP is connected to a crane. Each DOP250 has a mixture capacity of 1,250 m3/h, and is used to empty each partition of the caisson. The sand is put to good use as it is pumped to a nearby beach.
The DOP submersible dredge pumps arrived on site mid-January. A Damen Field Service Engineer assisted during the startup and instructed the crew. All caissons were finished and emptied by the middle of May. Then Acciona finished the repositioning of the caissons and completed the breakwater construction.
The caisson job is another example of the versatility of Damen DOP submersible dredge pumps.
