China Building ‘Super Dredger’

Padmesh Prabhune

China has been developing artificial islands in the South China Sea to increase its expanding influence in that zone. According to the Chinese daily South China Morning Post, China now plans on building a supersized dredging vessel to boost its island-building capabilities.

The new self-propelled suction dredger being developed will feature a 10,000kW reamer, the first in the world, according to Qin Bin, chief engineer of the Tianjin Waterway Bureau, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

“China is developing a record-breaking dredger 50 per cent more powerful than its existing ‘super island builder’”, Qin said.

China has invested heavily in its dredging industry and has built almost 200 vessels since 2006 to become one of the world’s biggest dredger manufacturers.

Qin said China’s dredger industry must strengthen its self-sufficiency in core technology development to become the industrial leader of the world. This unique instrument can reclaim land faster, dredging in one spot and refilling in another without the need to transport landfill material from elsewhere.

The dredging vessel can split the seabed using drill-like reamer equipment to develop artificial islands. It sucks up huge rocks and large quantities of sand very rapidly, pumping these to the locations via a long pipe.

Besides building islands, the new dredging vessel is also expected to clear navigable waterways.

China has been developing artificial islands in the South China Sea to increase its expanding influence in that zone.

Marex Media