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Damen Delivers Floating Pump Station to Hamburg Port Authority

Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) has taken delivery of the Sauger III, a custom floating pump station by Damen Shipyards Group for supporting dredging operations. Situated 110km inland on the River Elbe and with a tidal range of 3.6m, the Hamburg Port requires regularly dredging like most ports. The station is 37 metres in length and 10 metres wide, and features a powerful, dual pump installation and comfortable accommodation for the crew.

The Sauger III was built to a completely new design and constructed over 15 months at Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld. The vessel has been designed and built to comply with all German regulations and is certified by Germanischer Lloyd.

The structure is essentially a pontoon fitted with sophisticated pumping equipment capable of managing very large volumes of sediment, plus crew accommodation. The core equipment consists of two pumps, each connected to an arm on deck. One of these pumps takes the contaminated mud from the barges that come alongside to offload and then pumps it ashore via a floating line. The second pump/arm combination adds sea water to the mud to keep it in a liquefied state. The sediment is cleaned as it passes through the pumping apparatus, allowing to be safely dumped or used for a variety of purposes.

The Sauger III is the first vessel that Damen has built for the Hamburg Port Authority. With the dredging equipment and pumps coming from Damen Dredging Equipment, 60% of the components came from Damen. This allowed the client to deal with a single party for all aspects of the project and a comprehensive service package will ensure that it operates at peak performance in the years ahead.

The Sauger III is now undergoing commissioning and trials and will begin operations after the summer.