Port of Barranquilla Dredging Provisionally Suspended

In July, Colombia’s river management authority, Cormagdalena, said it provisionally suspended dredging in the access channel of the Port of Barranquilla. The suspension was due to a rupture in the dredge’s hull. Jan De Nul’s trailing suction hopper dredge Francis Beaufort hit its hull during operations near the Boca de Ceniza section of the local Magdalena River. “After an exhaustive internal inspection, we found out that the high-pressure injection pipes … needed repairs,” said Cormagdalena’s executive director, Pedro Pablo Jurado. A few days after the incident on July 8, the river management authority said the hopper dredge Francis Beaufort was replaced by the hopper dredge Medway, with “no additional costs.” Despite the force majeure event, Jan De Nul’s Jurado said the contractor was expected to meet the terms of the existing contract. “In other words, they have to extract the demanded volumes of sediments at the agreed price. They can’t add any costs, and can’t extend the project any longer,” the executive said.