Trailing suction hopper dredge (TSHD) Pelican, operated by Van Oord Australia, is currently carrying out dredging operations on the Lakes Entrance Bar.
According to Gippsland Ports’ CEO, Nick Murray , this will be the eighth consecutive year that Gippsland Ports has engaged the services of ‘Pelican’ to undertake maintenance dredging of the bar and inner channels.
“ This year, ‘Pelican’ will relocate approximately 150,000 cubic meters of clean sand from the bar and minor maintenance dredging will be carried out in channels where navigability has been compromised through shoaling ,” Murray said.
The vessel will relocate sand to grounds approximately two kilometers either side of the entrance channel, reducing thus the rate of sand build up at the entrance channels and bar while retaining the sand in the coastal system.
“ ’Pelican’ relocates 600 to 700 cubic meters of oceanic sand each time it loads at the dredging area and deposits into designated dredged material grounds, ” Mr Murray said. “ Maintenance dredging of the bar and entrance channels is essential for maintaining safe and reliable ocean access to the Gippsland Lakes. ”
The dredging operations on the Lakes Entrance Bar are expected to last for the next 3-4 weeks.
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