Dredging to begin at Crabbes Facility

An agreement has been signed between the Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority
(ABPA) and the dredging company, Blue Ocean Marine, to undertake the dredging
of the channel at the Crabbes facility to allow bigger vessels to operate there.
The agreement was signed by General Manager at ABPA, Darwin Telemaque, and
Conliffe Browne of Blue Ocean Marine. “The contract calls for dredging the
channel at Crabbes down to a depth of 8 metres from the 5-6 metres that it is
currently. This way, bigger vessels will then be able to use the channels including
those vessels that will carry Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to the new plant being
constructed at Crabbes. The LNG vessels will be able to sail right up to the
berthing point when the dredging is completed,” Telemaque explained.
He added that the project costs an estimated US$4.2 million that is being made
available by the Antigua Power Company Ltd. and its partner in the LNG
generation, Eagle LNG out of the United States.
The Blue Ocean Marine official said the company needs only a week to mobilize
its resources and that the actual dredging can begin within a week. “We will be
widening and deepening the channel from Maiden Island to the docks, as well as
widening the turning basin. We will be dredging over 400 thousand cubic feet of
materials which will be used for land reclamation in Shell Beach and other areas,”
he explained.
The nearby cement silo operation will also benefit from the deepening of the
channel, as this means that larger vessels carrying cement into the country will be
better able to maneuver in the channel and berth directly at the shared facility.
Earlier, APUA Minister, Melford Nicholas said the delays in signing the contract
may cause the postponement of the end of October completion date. He, however,
has expressed the view that if there is any way that the timeline can be shortened,
he is prepared to take those steps.
APC is undertaking the construction of a 40-megawatt LNG power generation
plant at Crabbes, and there is a need for the vessels transporting the LNG to
Antigua to be able to berth at the Crabbes facility, to discharge its cargo.