Boskalis Westminster’s trailing suction hopper dredger Sospan Dau has been busy this January, carrying out the winter maintenance dredging program for the Cardiff Harbor Authority.
The works started in early January, and for the past three weeks, the dredging vessel MV Sospan Dau – supported with the MV Avanti and Tioga B – has been performing dredging works in Cardiff Bay Barrage Outer Harbor and the approach channel.
The Cardiff Bay Barrage was completed in 1999 to create an impounded water body as the center piece for the regeneration of the area.
A lock system, which includes three locks and an inner harbor, was incorporated into the scheme to provide marine access to the impounded bay at all states of the tide.
The entrance to the locks is located at the mouth of the River Severn and is prone to high rates of siltation. In order to maintain navigable access to the locks, maintenance dredging is required twice a year.
The environmental conditions in the Marine Management Organisation licence restrict dredging works to the start of the year and August.