DREDGE NEW YORK
2/8/2008 by Kurt Erlandson
On Thursday, January 24th, 2008 Randive, Inc. received an urgent phone call from Great Lakes Dredge & Dock requesting immediate dispatch of dive teams to the dredge New York, which had been struck at 1:50 p.m. by a 669-foot outbound motor vessel in Newark Bay. Within 45 minutes of the initial call, a six-man dive team was on site.
Randive is headquartered in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
The dredge was being held up by its three spuds, but in the flood tide, the water level was increasing inside the dredge.
The dive team was requested to penetrate into a flooded storage room to begin an internal assessment, and they were able to pump water from that area, returning some buoyancy to the dredge. After pumping down the storage area, the team ascertained that the damage was isolated to the winch room, just aft of the excavator. Upon returning some stability to the vessel, Randive’s next task was to determine the location and extent of damage.
An inspection diver on the outside of the ship found a 17-foot by two-foot tear on the port side, at approximately frame 38, in way of the winch room. The damaged area was behind large tire fenders.
Working throughout the night with underwater burning equipment, the dive team and dredge crew were able to remove the tire fenders – excavator tires six to eight feet in diameter – and other obstructions. This revealed the long, crescent-shaped tear where the ship had hit the dredge.
The next morning, Friday, after receiving approval from the owners, Randive began extensive in-water repairs on the damaged hull, which took approximately eight hours. By 3 p.m. the damage was sealed off and pumping operations began. Within four hours the dredge had regained buoyancy and was floating.
The next phase was to perform an internal inspection of the damage. The team decided to fabricate an internal cofferdam to isolate the area surrounding the damaged hull. Working with Brady Marine Repair Co., Inc. of Elizabeth, New Jersey, Randive spent Saturday assembling materials for an internal welded cofferdam – a total of about three tons of steel. By the evening of Saturday, January 26th, the Randive dive teams and Brady welders began working around the clock, and had completed the cofferdam by the morning of Monday, January 28th.
Repairs to the spuds and other areas took the rest of the week, and the dredge was towed to drydock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a distance of 13 miles – on Saturday, February 2.
Randive was also retained to perform an inspection on the hull of the 669-foot motor vessel, allowing the ship to continue to Florida for more extensive repairs.
All work was performed to the highest of safety standards and to the approval of the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The successful completion of the hull repairs was a culmination of the unwavering cooperation between Randive, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, Brady Marine, the Corps of Engineers and the United States Coast Guard.
Letter From Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company
E-mail: Divingservices@randive.com
