TSHD (trailing suction dredger) is a high-end marine engineering equipment that integrates dredging, conveying, transportation, and hydraulic filling. Its construction is a massive system engineering involving giant steel structures, complex dynamic systems, and precision dredging equipment. During the construction process, safety, efficiency, and project management constitute the three core pillars that determine the success or failure of a project.
🛡️ Safety: the bottom line that runs through the entire lifecycle
The construction safety of drag suction dredgers requires full process control from the design source, construction process to operation and use.
Design source: standards come first. The design and construction of trailing suction dredgers must comply with strict technical specifications. The national standard GB/T 39656-2020 “Technical Requirements for Design of Dredging System of Self propelled Scraper Dredger” covers design parameters, structural requirements, safety protection measures, and other contents. The “Guidelines for Construction and Inspection of Dredging Equipment for Dredging Ships” issued by the China Classification Society (CCS) stipulate the installation and testing requirements for dredging equipment. These standards provide a unified technical basis for safe construction.
Construction process: precise control of high-risk operations. The structure of the drag suction dredger is complex and involves a large number of high-risk operations. The construction of the ship involves the segmented prefabrication, precision lifting, and high-strength welding of tens of thousands of tons of steel. Taking the example of the 30000 cubic meter rake suction ship “Junguang”, its hull is assembled from 137 sections and 13467 tons of steel. The installation accuracy of the main engine directly affects the reliability and navigation safety of the entire ship’s power system. Strict control of welding sequence and temperature is required during the construction process. At present, shipyards generally adopt the “digital dock+modular construction” mode, which dynamically monitors key segments through digital scanning and 3D positioning technology to achieve millimeter level error compensation. Meanwhile, the “Digital Sentry” system based on AI vision and LiDAR is gradually being applied, which can achieve ship safety perception and early warning.
Operational safety: special considerations for job scenarios. Scraper suction dredgers often operate in complex water areas, with relatively limited maneuverability and high risks of accidents such as damage, overturning, grounding, and collisions. Therefore, during the construction phase, it is necessary to fully consider the particularity of its future operations and equip it with comprehensive emergency and safety systems. In the construction process of super large drag suction vessels such as “Tongjun” and “Junguang”, the maritime department also intervened in advance to inspect the implementation of safety measures and emergency plans.
