Today we would like to present this new project to refurbish the Balboa Shipyard at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, in Panama City, where Indar pumps will help to reduce and control leaks in the dikes to prevent possible flooding.

The shipyard was built more than 100 years ago to provide repair and maintenance services to vessels transiting the Panama Canal. It has recently been purchased and refurbished to bring it back into operation. In addition, the shipyard has approximately 6,500 m2 of workshop space, which is currently being refurbished. The reactivation of the shipyard will have a direct impact on the national economy by boosting the creation of direct and indirect jobs, reactivating and strengthening the entire Panamanian maritime conglomerate.

Ingeteam has supplied the main dewatering equipment for emptying docks 2 and 3 when ships come in for repairs.  In total there have been 3 pieces of equipment, one Indar HE pump for the main dewatering of the dock and two Indar BF as auxiliary pumping for the leaks in the dock.

The equipment was designed ad hoc, to cover the whole range of operation required in the emptying of the dike, with a wide variation of pumping heights. In addition, they are high flow and high power submersible units for fast and controlled dike emptying, thus reducing prolonged consumption and achieving a more efficient operation. A robust solution when it comes to efficient water treatment and energy use.

Thanks to our submersible technology, we eliminate the risk of flooding in the pumping room. We offer a more compact and easy-to-install solution with no vibration in operation and very low maintenance costs. We also use Duplex stainless steel as a special material to ensure durability in saline conditions.

Finally, we also supply Ingeteam Variable Frequency Drives and Starters as a complete solution and integration for an efficient pumping system.

The consortium Astilleros Puerto Balboa S.A. (Astibal), of the Spanish group Astilleros Canarios S.A. (Astican), was the only bidder in the tender for the shipyard, which started operations in 1916, is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal and is the only facility in Panama with three dry docks. Dock number 1 has the capacity to receive Panamax type vessels, with a length of 318 metres and a width of 33.6 metres, with a maximum draught of 7.9 metres. It is for this reason that it is considered a very important asset for the maritime industry. The other two docks have been used for repairs of smaller vessels such as tuna boats, fuel barges, tugboats and other vessels providing auxiliary maritime services, with the following dimensions:

Dock 2 is 130 metres long by 25.9 metres wide with a draught of 6.4 metres. Dock 3, on the other hand, is 70 metres long by 15 metres wide with a maximum draught of 4.3 metres. In addition, the facilities include an administrative building, pump room, 6 work and storage hangars.

Astibal will carry out in this shipyard all kinds of ship repairs including underwater works, surface treatment of hull and tanks, repair and maintenance of engines, electrical equipment, piping, steel, tail shafts, propellers, fitting out.

We are fully committed with all our products and services with the management and efficient use of water resources to provide solutions with our advanced water engineering to achieve an efficient use of water. Always hand in hand with a team that believes in the project and that contributes its grain of sand in the energy transition in which we find ourselves to achieve a cleaner planet.