Surrounded by expectations to help Santa Catarina’s economy, the Galileo Galilei dredge, which was working to expand the central beach of Balneario Camboriu, arrived in Itajai this Wednesday (15) morning, in the middle of the city’s anniversary.
The equipment has been activated by the Port Authority to help with a draft free approach to the port at Itajai, on the north coast of Santa Catarina, exacerbated by heavy rains in recent weeks that have blocked the channel. The ideal depth for access is 14 meters, but currently it is 12 meters, and in some areas it is 10 meters.
The dredge was supposed to arrive on Thursday (16), but surprised everyone this Wednesday, it should start working in the port channel the very next day. Impressive and exclusive looks BUT+show the equipment making its debut on the Itajai-Asu River.
The port complex suffered losses due to the difficulty of operating ships at full load due to shallow draft, that is, the depth of the river on the way to the port. The dredger arrived to maintain the draft.
The absence of a draft on the approach to the port at Itajai was exacerbated by the heavy rains of the past few weeks, which blocked the channel. The ideal depth for access is 14 meters, but currently it is 12 meters, and in some areas it is 10 meters.
This lack of depth creates a risk of stranding heavier ships, to prevent this from happening, operators have reduced the number of containers aboard the Itajai port complex.
Dredger Galileu Galilei in Itajai
The Galileo Galilei dredger has been a sensation in Balneario Camboriu since arriving in the city on 22 August. In just a few days, the equipment transformed the landscape, turning Brazilian Dubai into the Copacabana of Santa Catarina.
Galileo Galilei was responsible for transporting over 1.5 million cubic meters of sand from the sea to the outskirts of Praia Central. There were from 12 to 15 thousand m³ of sand per day, and the dredger was located 15 km from the coast.
Sand transportation works like this: a dredger is sent to the deposit, which is located about 15 km from the coast. The depth of the deposit is 30 meters. The sand suction process fills the dredger tank, which has a total capacity of 18,000 m³, but due to the depth of the bay, only 12,000 to 15,000 m³ is transported to Praia Central per trip.
After loading, the dredger moves to a pipeline line located 2.5 km from the beach, where it is connected to a pipeline to transport sand to the beach. Each arrival cycle, or the time taken for each trip, varies from 6 to 7 hours.
Crew
The crew of the dredger is also full of curiosity. The team consists of 28 people who replace each other, as well as two inspectors hired to monitor the environment. Only 25% of the crew are Brazilians.
The remaining 75% of the crew are Europeans who never get off the dredger, that is, they stay on board 100% of the time. Only inspectors change every 14 days.
Supply
It is surprising how much fuel a Galileo Galilei dredger consumes at each refueling stop. While on the north coast of Santa Catarina, the dredger called twice at the port of Paranagua in Paraná for resupply.
Each stop consumed 1.8 million liters of VLSFO (very low sulfur fuel) fuel, which is only available at the port of Parana. This type of fuel is less polluting.
According to the mayor’s office, 1.8 million liters is enough for the dredger to work for three weeks without a break, 24 hours a day. Every day, the equipment transports about 60 thousand cubic meters of sand, on average passing 90 meters of the extended beach per day.
Source: Ndmais