Maintenance Dredging in Ponta Da Madeira Maritime Terminal
Type:
Presented during:
WODCON XX: "The Art of Dredging" - 2013, Brussels, Belgium
Authors:
Gaglianone de Moraes D, Loureiro Monteiro RF
Abstract: The maintenance dredging of the mooring berth and access channel is done in Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal (TMPM) – VALE S.A’s private terminal for disposal of ore located in São Marcos Bay, in Maranhão State, Brazil - since the implementation of its first pier (Pier I). However, with the implementation of Pier III and the increase of world demand for iron ore, the use of the port has increased exponentially, reducing the time available to maintain the pier’s project of depths. In addition to this, there is the sedimentary dynamics of the region which, combined with the great influence of river floods and periods of rain, has high rates of material deposition, reducing the depths of cradle berths in a short period of time. Therefore, since 2002, VALE has maintained a system of maintenance dredging with full-time dedication of a Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge acting in the berths during maintenance shutdowns of loading lines and in adjacent areas that contribute for silting up of the piers the rest of the time. With the expectance to increase the efficiency of dredging and to maintain the piers capable of receiving ships without draft restriction, VALE counts with its own team for monitoring and management of dredging services and with partnership with the University of Sao Paulo - USP for monitoring local sedimentation in order to propose improvements in the methods of maintaining the depths. These studies are fundamental to improve the usage of the dredging system and hence the terminal. Thus, the following work aims to describe the dredging in Ponta da Madeira Terminal and show the evolution of dredging operations, especially since 2011.
Keywords: dredging, sedimentation, depths, mooring berth.