A vessel and vessel/barge systems for dredging underwater surfaces. The vessel includes a hull with a bottom, bow portion, stern portion, port side, and starboard side. The vessel also includes a deck supported by the hull and a pump system mounted within the hull. A drag arm pivotably couples to the pump system. The vessel additionally includes a void defined by contiguous watertight walls or bulkheads joined to and extending upward from the bottom of the hull. The contiguous watertight walls or bulkheads are (i) vertically extensive of a perimeters of an aperture in the bottom of the hull, (ii) outboard, astern, and forward the aperture, or (iii) some combination thereof. The barge is releasably coupled to the vessel. Moreover, the barge is in fluidic communication with the drag arm.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a dredging apparatus, including a buoyant platform having an upper surface, a lower surface configured to float on a body of water, and an opening having a horizontal cross-sectional area and extending from the upper surface through the lower surface. A set of supports, mechanically coupled to the platform, is configured to maintain a position of the buoyant platform above a dredge site at a bottom of the body of water. A turbidity curtain, coupled to the platform using a plurality of telescoping members, surrounds at least the horizontal cross-sectional area of the opening. A bubble tube frame, coupled to the turbidity curtain and extending outwardly therefrom to surround the turbidity curtain, includes a plurality of outlets configured to emit bubbles into the body of water around a perimeter of the dredge site.

A cutter suction dredger includes a vessel, a ladder extending away from the vessel, a cutter head positioned at a distal end of the ladder and configured to contact a bed of the body of water to cut into the bed, and a bearing assembly. The bearing assembly includes a first spherical thrust bearing configured to resist thrust forces generated by the cutter head contacting the bed, a second spherical thrust bearing positioned opposite the first spherical thrust bearing, a symmetrical spherical bearing positioned between the first and second spherical thrust bearings, and a housing surrounding the first and second spherical thrust bearings and the symmetrical spherical bearing, the housing mounted to the ladder. A shaft extends along the ladder and through the bearings and the housing, the cutter head coupled to a distal end of the shaft.

A system for dredging a seabed includes a trailing suction hopper dredger. The trailing suction hopper dredger includes a hull, a rail coupled to the hull, and a dredge arm coupled to the rail. The dredge arm includes an upper suction pipe coupled to a lower suction pipe. A pump is coupled to the upper suction pipe and is configured to draw material toward the upper suction pipe from the seabed. A visual marine life deterrent is coupled to the dredge arm and is configured to direct light toward the sea floor where marine life may be located. Another visual marine life deterrent includes a silhouette of a marine life predator. The visual marine life deterrents are configured to be observable by the marine life and cause marine life to move away from the dredge arm.

Disclosed is a pile leg walking type manganese nodule mining robot. The robot includes a body, a pile walking mechanism, a vector propulsive mechanism, a negative pressure suction mechanism and a manganese nodule cutter suction mechanism. The invention involves a stable and efficient deep-sea mining robot which can complete the mining task on the geological layer where the manganese nodule are located, and effectively protects the marine life and living environment in the deep-sea mining area. The existence environment of manganese nodule is also protected. After mining, the regeneration environment of living or other resources on the deep-sea floor will not be affected, thus greatly resolving the sharp contradiction between resource exploitation and environmental protection.

The invention relates to a manoeuvrable trailing dredging vessel comprising; a vessel propulsion member coupled with a propulsion shaft provided with a single gear for driving the propulsion member, a drive system having a central drive shaft coupled with the vessel propulsion member for providing power to the vessel propulsion member, a transmission device having at least a trailing transmission shaft provided with a trailing pinion and a sailing transmission shaft provided with a sailing pinion, wherein the central drive shaft is coupled with the single gear of the propulsion shaft through one of the trailing transmission shaft and the sailing transmission shaft.

An overflow system for a hopper dredger comprises an overflow tube; an inlet for taking in head water from the hopper; and a collector to collect the flow of head water entering the inlet and guide the flow to the overflow tube. The collector comprises a substantially horizontal top portion which delineates a top of a flowpath for head water into the collector to ensure substantially radial flow into the collector. At least one of the overflow tube and the inlet is adjustable for controlling flow into the overflow system.

A method of improving surf conditions above a seabed is provided. The seabed is at least partly formed of unrestrained sediment. The method includes moving some of the sediment to form a formation of unrestrained sediment. A grooming device is provided for improving surf conditions above a seabed. The device is movable in a direction of travel along the seabed and includes an outlet and an arrangement. The outlet is for directing, in a direction transverse to the direction of travel, a stream of water to move some of the sediment. The arrangement is for engaging the seabed to resist force resultant from the directing the stream of water.

A device for the removal of a layer of sludge and/or sand from the bottom of a wetland includes: a diving bell with an open bottom and a lower free edge; a unit for driving the diving bell with its lower edge into the layer of sludge to be removed; a dredge pump installed in the space of the diving bell and provided with an inlet for pumping up the sludge and/or an outlet to which a pipe is connected for pumping the pumped up sludge and/or sand to a collector; and a compressor for pumping gas under pressure into the space of the diving bell during dredging. The diving bell is also provided with a gas outlet for the compressed gas, the gas outlet being adjustable in height in the diving bell because the outlet is attached to a float that can float on the sludge.

Device for removing alluvial deposits (24) from the bed (29) of a body of water, whereby the device (1) consists of a bell (2) with an open bottom (3), whereby this device (2) is provided with means to control the water level (30) in the bell (2) and with suction means to suck up alluvial deposits (24), whereby a section of the sidewall (8) of the bell (2) is open at the bottom, whereby the opening (10) can be closed by a partition (12) that can be moved between a raised and a lowered position, and that the device (1) is provided with a drive (13) to be able to drive the partition (12) into the alluvial deposits (24).