A method of exposing a buried utility under a roadway by cutting an access hole in the roadway, vacuuming away dirt surrounding the buried utility, and spraying at least one of pressurized water or compressed air into the dirt to loosen the dirt. A vacuum device having a vacuum nozzle, a compressed air nozzle, and a pressurized water nozzle.

The present invention relates to a system and method for uncovering and removing pipeline from the seafloor using a subsea trenching system using pressurized water to uncover pipe, a subsea shear carried by a barge to cut lengths of the pipeline, and a grapple carried by a barge to lift cut lengths of pipeline for placement on a pipe haul and recovery barge.

Systems and methods include a wing tool configured to be operable from work vessel(s), the wing tool including thrusters capable of fluidizing sediments from a first seabed location and moving it to a second seabed location, the second seabed location including a trench or differently shaped collection sump previously made by the wing tool and/or an extraction pump. The extraction pump operates from a second work vessel having sufficient capacity to pump fluidized sediments from the trench. Certain systems include a separation unit that separates sand from silts and clays and water from collected sediment. Systems and methods for reclamation of reservoirs, moving sand waves, for pre-trenching and/or recovering marine pipelines and cables, for removing cover from marine archaeological sites and for disposing of contaminated bottom materials in an environmentally acceptable manner.

A dredging system for removing material under a structure may include a barge body including a plurality of barge sections, each barge section of the plurality of barge sections configured to selectively be fully submersed or partially submersed to adjust a height of the barge body. A dredging system for removing material under a structure may include a winch system attached to the barge body and including a cable. A dredging system for removing material under a structure may include a drag beam coupled to the barge body via the cable and configured to vertically move via the winch system between a deployed position and undeployed position.

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.

A robot and a collecting method for collecting polymetallic nodules in deep-sea are provided. The robot includes an underwater moving carrier and a collecting module, and the collecting module is fixedly mounted on the underwater moving carrier. The collecting module includes a collecting frame, a collecting pump, a rack and a collecting tube, the collecting frame is installed at the bottom of the rack, and the collecting pump is a piston pump, which includes a piston and a cylinder with open lower-end. The upper part of the cylinder is a collecting area, the lower part is a piston stroke area, the collecting tube is connected to the cylinder of the collecting area, and a check valve is arranged in the middle of the piston.

The invention relates to a method for dredging an underwater bottom in an area using a dredging device. The method includes: determining the present positions of the dredging device and of a source of contamination in the area; entering input data relating to the area into a hydrodynamic model of the area; determining with the hydrodynamic model the degree of contamination at positions in the area resulting from spread of the contamination from the source; comparing the degree of contamination at positions in the area to a threshold value for these positions; and optionally adapting the dredging if the degree of contamination exceeds the threshold value. Underwater bottom can be dredged using the invented method, such that on the one hand the production is maximized and on the other the consequences for the natural environment are minimized.

The present invention provides a dredged soil transport system including a pipe module wound with a coil applying an electromagnetic field to an internally flowing dredged soil and including a plurality of pipelines, a pump module configured to provide a transport pressure for transport of dredged soil to the pipe module, database stored with flow information on flow velocity and flow form in response to physical properties of liquefied unit, and a control module communicating with the pipe module, the pump module and the database wiredly and wirelessly and applying, to the coil, a current of waveform matching to a flow waveform of the dredged soil transported inside the pipeline, and a control method thereof.

A system for dredging underwater sea-beds includes a floating platform; a dredging tool positioned on the platform to face the water and having a system that lowers and lifts the dredging tool, further having at least three connection points associated with the platform to connect the ends of warping cables that are anchored to the shore at the opposite ends, and further having tensioning devices; a sediment collection system that collects sediment captured by the dredging tool; a system detecting the position of the platform; a system detecting the position of the dredging tool; a system detecting seabed configuration; a system detecting the quantity of sediment removed from the seabed; a remote command and control system for the system that lowers and lifts the dredging tool, a tensioning system for the warping cables; a detection system; and a system that supplies the equipment on board of the platform.

A dredge head assembly is disclosed. The assembly includes: a shroud having a generally open bottom end and a top end; a screen structure covering the generally open bottom end of the shroud; a suction pipe with a first end connected to the top end of the shroud and a second end configured to be operatively connected with a pump which induces suction; a handle connected to and extending from the shroud and having at least one grasping portion; and one or more vacuum relief valve assemblies, each comprising a valve, at least one opening configured to be in communication with water, and an actuation mechanism positioned to be accessible to a diver. Dredging systems and methods of dredging are also disclosed.