Trailing suction hopper dredger

A trailing suction hopper dredger[1] (TSHD) is a type of ship capable of maintaining navigable waterways, deepening the maritime canals that are threatened to become silted, constructing new land elsewhere or replacing sand eroded by storms or wave action on the beaches.

This is made possible by large, powerful pumps and engines able to suck sand, clay, silt and gravel.

In the head there are nozzles connected to a high pressure water installation that are capable of loosening the material on the seabed.

Once the mixture is loaded inside the hopper, the substance will sink and the water is discharged overboard, saving on storage space.

A trailing suction hopper dredger can only suck relatively loose substance because the steel teeth are not so big.