Land reclamation: Raising land from the sea

The Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) has a suction tube with a drag head that is lowered into the seabed to suck up sand, clay or gravel into its hold. Large TSHD vessels can carry 30,000 tonnes of soil, sucked up in an hour. When used for land reclamation, the TSHD can drop the soil via underwater cargo doors beneath the ship, pump the load via a floating pipe, or spray the slurry of soil and water onto the target site via a nozzle at the ship’s bow.

The trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) is a mind-blowing piece of marine engineering that could best be described as the largest vacuum cleaner on Earth.

Looking like the flat head brush and extender pipes of vacuum cleaners in your home, the ship’s suction tube with a drag head lowers into the seabed and sucks up sand, clay or gravel into its hold.