BMT JFA Consultants (BMT), a subsidiary of BMT Group, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, recently completed the project management and supervision of the 2015 Bandy Creek Boat Harbour Dredging works. This campaign was undertaken as part of the state-wide maintenance dredging program which has been managed by BMT for the Western Australian Department of Transport (DoT). After the adverse weather conditions that hampered production in the 2013 session, the 2015 campaign successfully dredged a total of 87,000m3 of sediments from the harbour and the entrance channel in 18 weeks against an average of 50,000m³ of sediments dredged in the previous campaigns. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour is a regional harbour developed in 1983 near the town of Esperance, Western Australia for recreational as well as commercial use. Since the opening, the Harbour has experienced ongoing sedimentation at the entrance area, which requires regular maintenance dredging to be undertaken. With heavy swells propagating from the Southern Ocean, operations such as dredging at the entrance area are challenging and limited by windows of calm sea-state. To cope with the swells the main contractor, CGC Dredging developed an innovative method to optimize the dredger’s operability by using stern and forward anchor’s to operate in the vicinity of the entrance. The method proved to be successful with the dredge being able to operate effectively in a wider range of conditions in the harbour entrance. As a result of increased operability, the dredge vessel was able to work in areas that were not dredged in previous sessions, such as the harbour fairway, the approach to the jinker ramp and the berths. Karim Ghaly, DoT Programme Manager from BMT JFA Consultants comments: “We are delighted to deliver such a milestone to the local community in the 2015 campaign as a result of team effort. The mariners can now enjoy full-depth access in and out of the Harbour. We look forward to implementing this innovative method in future dredging campaigns to further benefit the stakeholders.” BMT JFA Consultants Pty Ltd BMT JFA Consultants provides niche engineering services for port and maritime developments. The company is a specialist consultancy employing passionate staff who are focused on strong client relationships to deliver solutions in a timely and efficient manner and has provided services to clients throughout Australia, as well as overseas assignments in the Pacific, SE Asia and throughout Africa. The services offered by BMT JFA Consultants include full project management from conception to completion on marine, port and coastal engineering projects. The company can act as an integral part of a team or lead a team, managing all aspects from initial concept and feasibility studies through to site investigations as well as design, construction supervision and during facility operations. BMT Group BMT is an international design, engineering and risk management consultancy, working principally in the defence, energy and environment, marine risk and insurance, maritime transport and ports and logistics sectors. BMT invests significantly in research. Its customers are served through a network of international subsidiary companies. The group’s assets are held in beneficial ownership for its staff.
Source: BYM Product and Industry News
