Equipment

The trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) is a versatile vessel that unites dredging, transport and discharge in a single piece of equipment. TSHDs are self-propelled, sea-going vessels with a traditional hull shape.  

Grab hopper dredgers can be operated extremely accurately and are often used for dredging works near constructions – in ports and waterways, for instance. The grab hopper dredger is equipped with a crane that has a grab or clamshell. 

The backhoe dredger is the vessel of choice for projects where real muscle is required. This type of dredger uses a backhoe and a hydraulic crane with an excavation bucket to mechanically dig up the soil. 

Cutter suction dredgers (CSDs) combine the two basic principles of dredging: excavation and suction. A rotating cutting tool dislodges the soil so that it can be drawn into a suction pipe. This type of dredger can handle all kinds of soil, from sand and gravel to heavily compacted and hard materials such as clay, soft rock and even thin layers of hard rock.  

A bed leveller is a simple yet effective item of dredging equipment. It is basically a tugboat with an A-frame, winch and submerged drag. It can be used to level high spots in areas where the average dredging depth is sufficient.

The Auger Dredger is a specialized hydraulic vessel equipped with a horizontal Archimedes screw cutterhead. Unlike standard cutters, the auger rotates to collect and funnel sediment toward a central suction intake with high precision. This design is engineered for environmental dredging and lining protection, as it minimizes "turbidity" (the clouding of water) and allows for the surgical removal of thin layers of material without disturbing the underlying substrate. 

The Multibeam Echo Sounder (MBES) is a sophisticated hydrographic surveying system that emits a fan-shaped array of acoustic beams from a single transducer. By capturing a wide "swath" of the seafloor in one pass, it provides 100% bottom coverage and high-resolution 3D data. It is the industry standard for complex navigational charting, allowing surveyors to detect small obstructions and map large underwater areas with extreme spatial density. 

The Single Beam Echo Sounder (SBES) is a fundamental sonar device that transmits a single vertical pulse of sound directly beneath the vessel’s hull. It measures the "time-of-flight" for the signal to bounce off the seabed and return to the transducer, providing a discrete depth measurement at a specific point. While it lacks the wide coverage of a multibeam system, the SBES is a reliable, cost-effective tool for profile surveys, simple navigation, and verifying depths along a specific centerline. 

Varoius type of land equipment available to support all the marine construction