Leonardo Says Arrivederci Botany

The Leonardo Da Vinci dredger has left the Port Botany Expansion project after a successful two month stint of dredging operations in the bay.

It coincided with the Port Botany Expansion hitting its 9 month mark. The project will see the development of 5 new shipping berths and 1850 metres of new wharves to provide additional capacity.

Dredging contractor Jan De Nul's Leonardo arrived through Botany Bay's heads on 22 February 2009. It commenced works the evening of 27 February and continued dredging up until 14 April.

A view of Botany Bay from the deck of the Leonardo

Dredging works were ongoing 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The primary focus was on dredging and backfilling of the east/west foundation trench for the 620 tonne counterforts.

The Leonardo has played a significant role in the dredging program. The total volume dredged in its two month stay was around 1.8 million cubic metres, taking the total amount dredged for the whole project to over 3 million cubic metres so far.

After nearly two months of safe and successful operations, the dredge departed for Port Hedland from Botany Bay on the 20 April.