The port of Itajaí, on Santa Catarina’s north coast, has confirmed that the Galileu Galilei dredger, which has been working on expanding the central beach of Balneario Camboriu, is due to return to the state at the request of the port authority as early as this Thursday. (16).

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 comes to support the draft. The equipment has already been shipped from the coast of Rio de Janeiro to Itajai.

Draga Galileo Galilei returns to Santa Catarina, this time in Itajai – Photo: Secom BC

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.

Impressive images show how the Balneario Camboriú dredger works on the high seas – Photo: Secom/Disclosure

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.