DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRELIMINARY DREDGING PLAN FOR THE VALE PONTA DA MADEIRA PIER Ⅳ EXPORT FACILITY, SAO LUIS, BRAZIL

摘要

Vale S.A. has recently completed construction of the south berth of its new Pier Ⅳ iron ore export terminal at Ponta de Madeira, Sao Luis in northern Brazil. The south berth began receiving ships up to Valemax size in March 2013. The north berth at Pier Ⅳ is planned to be operational by December 2015. A system of sediment traps has been proposed for Pier Ⅳ with the overall objective to provide high occupancy berthing areas for vessels through minimization of maintenance dredging activities of the berth pockets. The design of the sediment traps was undertaken making use of field investigations, morphodynamic modelling and a number of other analysis techniques to determine corresponding CAPEX and OPEX dredging requirements. An extensive monitoring program will be completed through the ramp up period of initial ship arrivals at the south berth of Pier Ⅳ through 2013 to optimize the trap design and dredging requirements. This paper provides a description of the existing conditions and the development of the initial sediment trap design.