Dredger to improve navigation at port of Beira

The dredger, Macuti, is now at the port of Beira, in Mozambique, and is expected to solve the problem of silting in the port’s access channel once and for all, Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias reported. The dredger, which was acquired from a shipyard in Lithuania for 35 million euros, is expected to start operating on the so-called Macuti bend, where a high concentration of silt totals three million cubic metres. This dredger will ensure a depth of at least 8 metres in the channel, making it possible for ships weighing up to 60 000 tonnes to use the port of Beira. Once the dredger starts operating the clear channel will reduce the delays for ships waiting to enter the port, and will bolster the construction project for the port’s coal terminal, from which the coal mined in Tete province by Brazilian group Vale is exported. The coal that is carried along the Sena railroad from Moatize to Beira currently has to be loaded onto barges, and the coal then unloaded out at sea onto large ships.