Tramarsa purchases Damen's dredger for 30-year strategy of expansion

Peruvian maritime services provider Tramarsa has taken delivery of a Damen Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) 450. Tramarsa will be providing the tools to its subsidiary company Salaverry Terminal Internacional (STI), which will be using the new vessel for maintenance dredging tasks in the Port of Salaverry, Peru, with an eye on goals for future expansion.

The purchase of the new Damen CSD450 relates to the 30-year contract that STI was awarded for delivering port services at the Port of Salaverry. This contract includes maintenance dredging to keep the harbour at a suitable depth; operations that are necessary on a regular basis due to the currents along this part of the Peruvian coast that bring a lot of sand into the harbour area.

Tramarsa technical manager William Revilla Valdivia explains:

“We had worked with an international dredging company to get the water depth down to -11.5 metres, and maintenance dredging has to be conducted throughout the entire year. Therefore, as Tramarsa, we decided to buy our own maintenance dredger and provide Salaverry International Terminal with the necessary tools to perform the job.”

Tramarsa selected Damen after an international tender, basing its decision on quality and production levels. For the past 35 years the Damen dredger Grumete Arciniega has been working in Salaverry port. The quality of this dredger and the service levels Damen has given the past decades to keep the dredger running has been a key factor. Moreover, because of the respected name of Damen in the dredging industry, the possibility of re-selling the vessel at some point in the future was an important factor.

STI’s work will also consist of modifying the port infrastructure to increase quay length for bulk cargo vessels for the mineral and agricultural sectors. Mr Revilla Valdivia says:

“Corn and fertilizers, as well as copper and anthracite, are all important exports, and Peru is starting to export a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables – so the container trade is going to grow in the future.”

Responding to these ambitions of future growth, the new CSD450 has been adjusted to be able to dredge down to -14 metres.

Mr Revilla Valdivia says:

“Dredging the port to a good operational depth for continuous accessibility is the main issue. Then we can concentrate on expansion towards a deeper facility. The new CSD is our tool to realise these jobs. We have good expectations for this stationary dredger – we trust that we will increase the services to our clients. Working together with Damen is going a long way to achieving this.”

Damen sales manager Latin America Marnix Brouwer comments:

“It has been a pleasure to work with Tramarsa. Mr Revilla Valdivia had a very good understanding of what he needed at the technical level - in terms of performance specifications and productivity, for instance. Now that the dredger has arrived in Peru, we are happy to continue this working relationship with a full crew training programme.”