In the blog of 30 April we showed some stills from the filming of the new programme Massive Backhoe Dredgers by Steven Vale.
Steven and his crew have now been filming in Felixstowe, the busiest container port in the UK. Currently shifting more than 9,000 containers each week, owner Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd is looking to boost volumes by nearly 50 per cent.
To achieve this they are redeveloping the southern end of the Port to create a new deep-water container terminal. Called Felixstowe South, when it opens it will accommodate the largest container ships afloat.
There is heaps to do and not just on land but also under the water. All the dredging work is in the hands of sub-contractor Westminster Dredging Co Ltd - part of the Royal Boskalis Westminster Group.
Huge trailer suction hopper dredgers extract most of the sediment to deepen and widen the Harwich approach channels. Hoovering up the material at breathtaking speed, when full, the contents of the hopper are pumped out through a gigantic hose.
But some of the material is too tough for these floating vacuum cleaners and one of the company’s largest backhoe dredgers has been called in to help out.
Fitted to a pontoon called the Maricavor, the digging arm comes from a land-based Komatsu PC3000 hydraulic excavator. Although it often wields a 13cu m bucket, the under-water material here is so hard this has been swapped for a smaller 5.5 cu m one.
Cameraman Roger Wiltshire and film director Jonathan Theobald not only managed to capture some stunning images of one of the large barges pulling alongside the pontoon, but also take a peek at what goes on below deck.
For full advance information see blog 19 August.
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