Offshore dredging ??

[glider23]

Hello,

I haven't seen any thread or post about working in dredging industry as a navigator or engineer, so I wanted to know more about the work there and industry. Has anyone had some experience there or acquaintances, is there some differences, besides the projects (drilling, constructing), between other offshore jobs ? What your thoughts about it and have you heard something about dredging companys like boskalis, van oord or etc.

[IFHP]

Hi Glider23,

Dredging and offshore construction are light years apart. Dredging focuses around ports and offshore construction is well offshore i.e. subsea networks, fixed installations etc.

The money in dredging is utter gash but depending on where you live you could be home every night, the money on offshore construction is far better as is everything associated with E&P.

Hope this helps

[Ducki52]

Don't forget dredger crew will lose their tax exemption, generally.

[GuinnessMan]

Don't forget dredger crew will lose their tax exemption, generally.

And is about as exciting as watching grass grow....

[gadget123]

And is about as exciting as watching grass grow....

Can't be much more boring than any other ship type for engineers can it?

In fact wouldn't a dredger have a few extra bits of kit a cargo ship of a similar size doesn't have?

[bobofinga]

I done a 3 week trip on a dredger inbeteen jobs for some money about November last year.

I genuinally enjoyed it , it was on the south coast and we were in port every second night basically.

The work was quite monotonous and the money wasn't great BUT it was a really good crew and great banter onboard.

[Clanky]

OK, I have worked on dredgers, both small coastal aggregate dredgers and larger construction dredgers.

On a UK based coastal dredger you will be part of a small engine room team (typically chief, second third and deck engineer), the money will be piss poor, you will normally work 3 weeks on / 3 weeks off and be on daywork with UMS duty nights and attended engine room while you dredge and for arrivals departures which are typically every 2-3 days. You sail empty from port, go and load sand or gravel and then return and discharge. There are opportunities to go ashore and the atmosphere onboard is usually quite friendly and relaxed. As has been said above, you are unlikely to qualify for seafarers earnings deduction on your income tax.

On the larger dredgers, you will typically work 6 or 8 weeks on off, the engine room team will be a chief, 2 seconds and 2 3rds as well as motormen and fitters and you will work either 6 hours on / off or 12 hours on / off (they used to work 8 on / off, but that doesn't technically meet the rest hours requirements). The money is good, the life onboard is good, but the work is hard and tiring. The work that the ships do varies from land reclamation projects to dredging channels for shipping or dredging a cut-out for a pipe.

As an engineer on any of these vessels you will be expected to look after the main engines and all the other crap that all ships have as well as the dredge pumps and the deck machinery, it is quite interesting work to be honest and I thoroughly enjoyed my time on both coastal and deep sea dredgers.

[Clanky]

Hi Glider23,

Dredging and offshore construction are light years apart. Dredging focuses around ports and offshore construction is well offshore i.e. subsea networks, fixed installations etc.

The money in dredging is utter gash but depending on where you live you could be home every night, the money on offshore construction is far better as is everything associated with E&P.

Hope this helps

The above only really applies to coastal aggregate dredgers, not to the larger dredgers run by companies like Boskalis / HAM / Jan de Null / Van Ord, they are very much in the construction business and the money is great.

As for being focussed around ports, the vast majority of dredging in the UK is dredging for sand and gravel from the seabed for the building industry, maintenance dredging is a tiny subsector of dredging.

[Clanky]

And is about as exciting as watching grass grow....

For engineers there is more to look after on a dredger than a box boat.