Royal Boskalis Sending Fairway to Work in New Zealand

Royal Boskalis will be sending its 230-meter long (754-foot)  trailing suction hopper dredge Fairway to New Zealand’s Lyttelton Harbour in August to begin work to widen the navigation channel in the harbor to 20 meters (66 feet). Contracted by the Lyttelton Port Company (LPC), Boskalis will begin by lengthening the channel by 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles), which should take approximately 11 weeks. The overall project will allow vessels with a 13.3-meter (43.6-foot) draft to call at Lyttelton providing more shipping solutions for Canterbury’s importers and exporters.

The Fairway will travel from Mumbai, India, after completing its latest project, and stop in Singapore for   cleaning before heading to Lyttelton Harbour. The Cawthron Institute has worked with LPC and Boskalis to develop a biosecurity plan.

In Singapore, it will go into dry dock to be water blasted and have its antifoul refreshed. The interior spaces will be cleaned and flushed with fresh water. After being inspected, it will sail directly to New Zealand.

LPC’s Harbour Watch website will provide real-time data as part of the company’s water-quality monitoring project, www.lpcharbourwatch.co.nz .