The new non-self-propelled shalan, part of the dredging equipment of the Danube River Exploration and Maintenance Executive Agency, arrived in Ruse. The facility, with a length of 59.5 metres and a width of 9.7 metres, was built at the ATG Giurgiu Shipyard in Romania. Its maximum draught is 2.35 meters. The value of Shalan is BGN 1 954 000 excluding VAT. It is designed to load the elevated masses when deepening or correcting the riverbed in critical sections of the Danube.
The supply of the facility is part of the project “Modernisation and optimisation of the rehabilitation of the shipping road in the common Bulgarian-Romanian section of the Danube river through delivery of equipment”, which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, through Operational Programme on Transport and Transport Infrastructure 2014-2020 and with funds from the national budget. The total value of all activities is over BGN 20.6 million.
With this delivery, EA “Study and Maintenance of the Danube River” is on the final rights in the implementation of the project, thanks to which it will be able to perform better one of its main tasks, namely maintenance of the shipping route in the Bulgarian section of the river.
The project also delivers dredger, pontoon, manoeuvring vessel and pipes for transportation of deposits. The drag ship Yantra, the pipes and the pontoon are already in Ruse. Only the manoeuvring vessel being built at the Giurgiu shipyard is currently under construction.
More information about the project can be found here