Thanet council is offering a four year contract for dredging at Ramsgate Port and Harbour.
The authority wants to work to begin from June 1. A value for the contract has not been published.
Costs in 2013 for dredging amounted to £159,650.82 for the harbour and £41,422.39 for the port, making a total of £201,073.21. This was just half the cost of the previous year (2012) where the bill came in at £66,722.34 for the harbour but a whopping £396,070.50 for the port, making a total of £462,792.84.
During 2012 the port was being used by Transeuropa Ferries which became bankrupt the following year leaving £3.4million of unpaid fees and charges.
In 2008 Thanet council sold its dredger for £66,000.
The new contract will be in two lots:
Lot 1. The Royal Harbour, including the marina finger berths and fairways and the approach to the Royal Harbour from the Turning circle of the commercial port. This is to be to a maximum target depth of -3.0m Chart datum.
Lot 2. The Turning Circle of the commercial port, the berths within the Turning Circle of the commercial port and up 250m eastwards of the breakwaters of the commercial port. This is to be to a maximum target depth of -7.5m Chart Datum.
Suppliers can bid for either Lot 1. or Lot 2. or both.
Thanet council states: “The contract is anticipated to commence upon 1 June 2021 for a duration of four years, with an option to extend by a further twelve months at the employer’s discretion, unless terminated in accordance with the Conditions of the Contract.”
Completed tender documents must be submitted electronically by no later than 3pm on April 15.
Why is there a busted dredger moored in the outer harbour? It looks a complete wreck.
It’s not a dredger.
should never have sold the one that was owned
I dare say it was sold because it was cheaper to hire in a dredger when one was needed, rather than pay for the upkeep of the vessel and its crew, doing nothing for months on end.
I don’t own a motor car, because it seems absurd to me to pay for the upkeep of something that does nothing at all most of the time. When I need one, I hire one, choosing the most suitable for the task.
I expect TDC do the same.