ELLICOTT STAYS BUSY WITH WORLDWIDE DREDGE ORDERS
November 1995
Ellicott International of Baltimore, Maryland is over 110 years old and continues to stay busy delivering cutter suction dredges throughout the world. The following dredge contracts illustrate Ellicott’s success, both with custom-designed products and a broad range of standard designs from 36-inch (900 mm) pipe size with 17,000 installed horsepower (12,700 kW) units sold by Ellicott’s Dredge Division, down to a 10-inch (250 mm) pipe with 400 horsepower (330kW) units sold by the company’s Mud Cat™ Division.
Ellicott’s Major Projects Division has signed a US$20 million contract with PT Rukindo of the Department of Sea Communications of the Government of Indonesia for five self-propelled split hopper barges and one tug vessel.
The contract is financed by a loan to the Indonesian Government from the U.S. Export-Import Bank of the United States (Eximbank) which has a 3.3 percent interest rate, with a 25-year maturity, including a seven-year grace period.
The 500 cubic meter capacity split barges will be built at Indonesian shipyards under Ellicott designs and with American-built machinery.
Ellicott has been doing business with PT Rukindo and its predecessors since the early 1950s, and is said to have supplied 75 percent of its cutter suction dredge fleet. The self-propelled split barges represent a product expansion of the company’s previous work, although Ellicott has delivered numerous hopper dredges and self-propelled split barges primarily to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Four of the units will have mechanical drive via a HRP propulsion system and the fifth will be hydraulic, using a Thrustmaster system. PT Rukindo elected to use the two different propulsion systems to enable performance comparison.
FIRST AMERICAN CONTRACT FOR VIETNAM
Ellicott’s Dredge Division is said to be the first American company to succeed in selling capital equipment to Vietnam since the lifting of the American embargo in February 1994.
The state-owned dredging company, VINAWACO, has just bought two Series 4170 "SUPER-DRAGON™" dredges. The two 4070 HP units (3,037kW), with 24-inch (610mm) discharge pipe size, will be used to improve Hai Phong Harbor and Mekong River’s navigational channels at its entrance to the South China Sea. VINAWACO’s subsidiaries — Waterway Dredging Co. No. 1 and Waterway Dredging Co. No. 2, will operate the new units (which will be the largest cutter dredges in its fleet of 40 dredges.)
VINAWACO currently has five Ellicott cutter dredges in service, which were delivered in the 1950s and 60s. Under the new contract, Ellicott will provide parts and service for these dredges as well.
SUEZ CANAL AUTHORITY, EGYPT
The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) accepted delivery of a 4,772 kW, 24-inch (610mm) Series B5900 "SUPER-DRAGON™" bucketwheel dredge named Barakat. The dredge was assembled in Egypt based on Ellicott design and machinery. The dredge is said to be unique in that it is the only bucketwheel dredge in the SCA’s substantial fleet.
The SCA has been using the dredge in hard digging areas, such as Lake Timsah. The dredge can produce up to 1,960 cubic yards (1,500 cubic meters) of fine sand per hour, through 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) of pipe. It is designed for up to 19,690 feet (6,000 meters) maximum pipeline length, or side discharge loading of hopper barges.
ARAB CONTRACTORS, EGYPT
Ellicott delivered a new updated 14-inch (350mm) Series 1170 "DRAGON™" dredge to Egypt’s Arab Contractors’ Dredging Department. The dredge is named "OSMASON" and was built at Arab Contractors’ shipyard in Ismailia, Egypt. Its most recent project was at Luxor for tour boat navigation.
Arab Contractors is the largest general contracting firm in Egypt and has been an Ellicott customer since the early 1960s. In addition to the new dredge, Arab Contractors operates four Ellicott dredges (up to 24-inches, 610mm). The Egyptian contracting company needs the new dredge to fulfill its contract commitments in the Middle East, including a project at El Alamein, as its existing fleet of Ellicott dredges is fully occupied.
SOUTH AMERICAN PROJECT, PARAGUAY
Late last year ANNP, the Paraguay National Port Authority, received delivery of an Ellicott Series 1680-S "DRAGON™" cutter suction dredge. The 1,680 HP (1,252 kW) dredge’s design was a modification and combination of two different standard Ellicott designs. The new dredge will be used to maintain the Paraguay River throughout the length of the country. In addition, it will also be used on the major multi-national river development project, Hidrovia (Waterway), which will link Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Uruguay through a 2,170-mile (3,500 km) river system.
"WEEDCAT™" DREDGE FOR BOURGES, FRANCE
Ellicott’s Mud Cat™ Division has been enjoying great success with its new line of Water Management Boats known as "WEEDCATS™" and ‘TRASHCATS™". A recent example is the City of Bourges, France, which bought a Model WB400R "WEEDCAT™" for use in Lake Auron near Bourges.
The lake was overgrown with rooted, submerged, dense aquatic vegetation, which was preventing recreational use of the lake. The vessel was put into service in early 1995, and has been meeting the customer’s expectations.
SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK
The Mud Cat™ Division is known for its line of "one-truck-transportable" dredges, which have been delivered throughout the world. Typical of Mud Cat’s™ customers is Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, which has ordered a standard Series 370 "DRAGON™" dredge for the maintenance of recreational waterways.
Suffolk County has countless small harbors and marinas along its shoreline, including Long Island Sound in the north, Block Island Sound to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south (with a chain of sandy barrier islands on the ocean side.) Suffolk County is a previous Ellicott customer, having purchased cutter dredges in 1956 and 1961, both of which are operating today.
Source: World Dredging Mining & Construction
