VESSEL REVIEW | Wandle – Waste transport barges for UK inland waters

UK waste treatment and disposal specialist the Cory Group has taken delivery of the first vessel in a series of 23 non-self-propelled barges built for the company by Northern Ireland-based shipyard Harland and Wolff.

Named Wandle, the steel-hulled barge will join Cory’s existing fleet of tugs and barges and will be used to transport recyclable and non-recyclable waste via the River Thames. Cory said its use of the river to transport waste via barges removes around 100,000 truck journeys from London’s roads each year.

The barges will transport waste to Cory’s Riverside 2 energy from waste (EfW) facility in Belvedere in East London, which will then process waste from various landfills. Through the EfW facility, Cory will process non-recyclable, residual waste and convert it to baseload electricity. The company estimates that the facility can process 650,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year, in turn generating enough electricity to power up to 176,000 homes.

The 23 barges are being built by Harland and Wolff in fulfillment of an £18.1 million (US$23.6 million) contract. Cory placed an initial order for 11 barges in the middle of 2022 and followed it up with a contract for the 12 remaining barges before the end of the previous year. All 23 barges are scheduled to be delivered to Cory by the third quarter of 2023.

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