Scale model dredger for Panama Canal Authorities

Late last month a scale model (1:50) of the powerful self propelled ocean going rock cutter dredger D’Artagnan was formally handed over by the Belgian DEME Group’s CEO Alain Bernard to the Panama Canal Authrorities (ACP) during a ceremony in the Miraflores Locks Visitor Centre.

The scale model will be permanently exhibited in the official Visitor Centre, that is open to the general public on  a daily basis in the Miraflores Locks building, which is located at the Pacific Entrance side of the Panama Canal.

With a total installed power of 28,000 kW, theD’Artagnan is one of the most powerful ocean going rock cutter suction dredgers in the world. The vessel was commissioned to DEME in the last quarter of 2005 and has been employed since on numerous complex projects requiring dredging of hard material throughout the world. The D’Artagnan  has also been one of the very strong assets enabling DEME company Dredging international to be awarded  the contract by ACP for widening and deepening of the Panama Canal at the Pacific Entrance and recently winning  the new contract for widening and deepening the Northern Reaches of the Gatun Lake Channel.

The Pacific Entrance widening and deepening contract was awarded to Dredging International in April 2008. A substantial part of these works have  been executed by DEME’s self propelled cutter dredger Vlaanderen XIX, trailing suction hopper dredger Breydel and the rock drilling and blasting vessel OO7. D’Artagnan will start its activities on the Canal later this year, then  will remain active on the Panama Canal for widening and deepening the Northern Reaches of the Gatun Lake channel at the Atlantic side of the canal, requiring another 5m cu/m to be dredged and removed.

The Miraflores Lock complex is probably the most visited tourist site in all of Panama. The permanent exhibition of the D’Artagnan in its Visitor Centre symbolizes the assistance of Belgian specialists and companies to the construction and the further development of the Panama Canal.

In his speech on the occasion of the handing over ceremony, Alain Bernard said,  ‘In the Exhibition Room, we saw that Belgian designed dredgers took part in the building of the Panama Canal in the first decade of the previous century. Nowadays, exactly 100 years later, much larger, state of the art dredgers operated by Dredging Internationals are operating in the Panama Canal  to realize ACP’s widening and deepening works to create the access to the third set of locks.’