Once the mandatory technical reports have been obtained, the Port Authority of Santander (APS) has opened for public tender the maintenance dredging project for the navigation channel between Punta Rabiosa and Somo.
As César Díaz, president of the port of Santander, has pointed out, this channel constitutes “the traditional maritime communication route between Santander, Pedreña and Somo”, and its current state “requires periodic dredging actions to guarantee navigability under the best conditions”.
The contract, with a base tender budget of 1,779,157 euros, will be distributed over five annual installments, and interested companies can submit their bids until October 13.
The works contemplate the execution of the dredging of the channel from Punta Rabiosa to Somo, with the objective of reaching a minimum operational level of -1.5 meters relative to the zero level of the port of Santander. This intervention will allow for the removal of the sandbanks that currently hinder navigation and force some vessels to wait for higher tides to avoid the risk of running aground, Díaz explained.
The channel has a total length of 3,754 meters, with an additional arm of 533 meters that heads towards El Puntal. The dredging plan will be developed in five annual campaigns, with a maximum estimated volume of 20,000 cubic meters per campaign, which will be executed in different sections depending on the needs detected each year.
For the operations, a mixed grab and trailing suction hopper dredger will be used, capable of simultaneously absorbing water and sediments, which “minimizes the generation of turbidity in the work area,” specified the port president.
In parallel, the APS commissioned the Foundation Institute of Environmental Hydraulics of Cantabria to prepare a hydrodynamic study of the Santander bay, whose objective is to define a sustainable management strategy for both the dredging and the disposal of the extracted material.
According to President César Díaz, this analysis is “of vital importance” for the operational and environmental future of the port, and its conclusions will be known shortly, once its drafting is finalized.
