Case Study Overview
Red7Marine is a leading provider of equipment for marine demolition and is skilled in dismantling structures that are beyond the reach of ordinary demolition contractors. In 2012, Red7Marine removed approximately 800 tonnes of steel in the Blackwater Estuary from the Bradwell nuclear power station water intake structure.
At a glance
- Location: Bradwell-on-sea, Essex
- Plant used: Haven Seaforth, Flat top barges, Workboats
- What we did: Red7Marine removed 800 tonnes of steel in the Blackwater Estuary.
The Challenge
The Solution
Red7Marine supplied a team of specialists who cut the sheet piles underwater using specialist cutting equipment. The tidal currents in the Blackwater estuary presented only small windows of opportunity for the Red7Marine divers to carry out the cutting operations, allowing for entry into the water only twice a day for 1-2 hours over the slack water periods.
Temporary works and multipoint lifting beams were designed and fabricated in-house so panels of sheet piles could be safely removed in single lifts without the risk of separation. The cut sections of the sheet pile wall were removed using large crawler cranes on flat top barges. The sections were lifted onto smaller supply barges which were towed to a local port for removal and recycling.
Nick Offord, Managing Director at Red7Marine commented: “The operations undertaken at Bradwell were carried out in challenging conditions but with our engineering expertise, correct planning and an extremely skilled team of marine specialists the wing wall was successfully removed. This is a great example of working with a client in partnership under strict health and safety conditions and with just small windows of opportunity each day to carry out the works.”
Commercially aware
As result of extensive experience, Red7Marine’s team understand weather risks and the commercial impact they pose and approach projects accordingly. This project was extremely dependant on the weather.
Technical support
Red7Marine carried out operations using specialist equipment in small windows of opportunity. As an industry leader, Red7Marine drives solutions with its range of cutting edge services and equipment.
Safe approach
Safety was paramount during this operation. Specialist health monitoring was carried out to check for any potential contamination levels of silts on the removed sheet pile sections.
