The trailing suction hopper dredger Dravo Costa Dorada extracted the sand from the borrow areas, carrying the material used to regenerate all the beaches onshore via 1,700 m of floating pipe.

A Multicat was used to tow the floating line, fit and change anchors and deliver to the dredger all the necessary supplies.

Advantages of floating pipe compared with a sinker line and land pipe:

• Fast mobilisation and assembly, thanks to the use of bolts rather than having to weld and cut and sinker line.
• Always working at the optimal distance for pumping.
• Only 200 m of the beach needs to be occupied as the work area (with a sinker and land pipe the whole length of the beach is used). This is very important for tourist hotels.
• Easy displacement from one beach to another.