Dredging Operations Begin in the La Chatière Channel at the Port of Le Havre, France

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 10, Belgium's DEME Group commenced dredging operations in the La Chatière channel at Quay 2000 in the Port of Le Havre, France, deploying the grab dredger "Peter the Great" as part of a joint construction team with Terélian, a subsidiary of France's VINCI Group. The work was launched following the completion of the connection between the new breakwater and the south breakwater of the historic harbor area. The project will excavate a navigable channel approximately 2 kilometers long and 100 meters wide, linking Quay 2000, the historic harbor area of Le Havre, and the Seine River waterway system, allowing inland barges to access the container terminal directly.

The dredging is being carried out by "Peter the Great," with the excavated material transported by two split hopper barges, "Vlaanderen VII" and "Vlaanderen VIII," to a designated disposal site at Octeville. Built in 2012, the dredger has a length of 60 meters and a molded breadth of 17.2 meters, and is equipped with a grab with a capacity of 11 cubic meters and a maximum dredging depth of 20 meters, making it suitable for underwater earthworks in harbor basins, channels, and near breakwaters.

Another main component of the La Chatière project is a new breakwater approximately 1,800 meters long. This breakwater connects the north breakwater of Quay 2000 with the south breakwater of the historic harbor area, providing wave protection for the new channel. The construction team has previously completed the connecting structure between the two breakwaters and has removed and repositioned the concrete armor units on the existing breakwater to ensure the armor structures of the new and old breakwaters join seamlessly.

Once the new channel is completed, barges in the Seine River inland navigation network will be able to access the Quay 2000 container terminal directly and navigate under various weather and tidal conditions. Currently, only about 10 specially designed inland barges can reach Quay 2000 via open water; other inland vessels must load and unload cargo in the historic harbor area and then transfer containers by road or rail. After the new channel is operational, Haropa Port expects inland transport volumes to and from Quay 2000 to increase by at least 50%.

The project represents a total investment of approximately EUR 197 million, jointly funded by the Normandy Region, the French government, the European Union, and Haropa Port. Of this, the Normandy Region contributes EUR 86.05 million, the French government EUR 23.6 million, the European Union EUR 11 million through the Connecting Europe Facility, and Haropa Port EUR 76.35 million. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2028.