Watermaster - The Amphibious Multipurpose Dredger

20/10/2026

🇵🇭 Watermasters helping reduce flood risk in Olongapo City, Philippines

Sediment buildup at the mouth of the Kalaklan River restricts water flow to the sea and increases the risk of flooding during heavy rains.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has lent its Watermaster to Olongapo City to help dredge the river mouth.

Watermaster is an amphibious dredger that can carry out effective suction dredging even in extremely shallow water.

📷 Photo credit: Olongapo City Information Center

Original post with more pictures: https://www.facebook.com/olongapopublicaffairs/posts/pfbid0WSvK17TEwM32QVww1YSGXmzDMFaJfGE1zfocMiJLqkvxewLT29aFRstDugixj712l

14/10/2026

Meet Maria Carolina Oliveira Gonçalves 🇧🇷, Brazil’s first female Watermaster operator and one of the first women in the world to operate a Watermaster.

Maria Carolina has worked as a heavy machinery operator for four years, a profession where women are still relatively rare. In May 2026, she took on a new challenge and began operating a Watermaster for Construtora Vale Verde on the Paraopeba River in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais.

We asked Maria Carolina about her work and what she would say to other women considering a career as a machine operator.

- What kind of work are you doing with Watermaster on the Paraopeba River?

“I work on removing tailings resulting from the dam collapse, as part of the environmental restoration effort for the Paraopeba River.”

- What do you like most about operating Watermaster?

“What I enjoy most is the challenge and the chance to learn something new. It is a unique machine that requires precision, attentiveness, and strategic thinking during operation.”

- What would you say to other women who are considering a career as a machine operator, especially in water restoration work?

“I would tell others to believe in their abilities and not be afraid of challenges. Seek knowledge and training, and seize opportunities. Women belong in operations roles, too, including contributing to environmental restoration work.”

We wish Maria all the best. She is setting an example that we hope many more women around the world will follow.

Read more about the project:
https://watermaster.fi/case-examples/reviving-brazils-paraopeba-river-2/

: the people improving our waters.

08/10/2026

Easier and safer water construction with Watermaster
Corsica, France 🇫🇷

Water construction often involves work both on land and in the water. Excavators are made for land. Watermaster is an amphibious dredging vessel made for work in shallow waters.

It can work where excavators on the shore cannot reach. It can also work along sections of shoreline with no suitable land access, operating from the water instead. The working range is from dry ground to six metres deep. Watermaster's four stabilizers anchor it firmly to the bottom and provide a steady working position for using its heavy-duty attachments.

Watermaster can excavate new channels, move rocks, drive piles and help install cables and pipelines. And unlike an excavator, Watermaster is also a suction dredger.

This month's photo shows Watermaster shaping a new waterway for a coastal infrastructure project in Corsica. It pumps the dredged sediment directly to the final discharge area instead of excavating and handling it several times.

The cabin is FOPS-certified, meaning it is tested to protect the operator from falling objects. This is an essential safety feature on construction sites, under bridges and during piling work.

Photos and work by AMC (Aménagement Maritime Corse)

Contact us: [email protected]

30/09/2026

Watermaster is a special kind of dredger.
It is fully amphibious even when equipped with the Cutter Pump.

28/09/2026

Multipurpose does not mean compromise in suction dredging.

Watermaster Classic V is a powerful 10” suction dredger with a pumping capacity of up to 900 m³/h, comparable to single-purpose cutter suction dredgers in the same size class.

But the capacity of the pump alone does not tell the whole story. It is the productive dredging time that matters.

Thanks to its flexible excavator boom, Watermaster works over a 180° area of up to 112 m² from one position, with a wide reach throughout the working depth. Many cutter suction dredgers work in narrower sweeps and need to reposition more often.

Watermaster uses a submersible cutter pump. Unlike many dredgers with the pump on deck, the slurry enters the Watermaster pump immediately, allowing a high solids concentration. After all, the aim is to remove sediment, not to spend energy pumping extra water.

More time spent actually dredging, combined with a high solids concentration, can even mean that Watermaster removes more sediment during a working day than a dredger with a larger pump on paper — with lower fuel use and operating costs.

For suction dredging, Watermaster’s amphibious mobility is another major advantage. No tugboat, external anchors or wire cables are needed, so Watermaster can operate independently even in hard-to-reach sites.

With the cutter pump installed, it can work in extremely shallow water, even with the machine itself on dry ground, and walk or crawl over shallow areas and difficult ground. The cutter pump can withstand the weight of the machine during this movement.

Pumping distance is up to 1.5 km, depending on the material and site conditions. For longer distances or greater discharge heights, Watermaster booster stations can significantly extend the range.

So even if suction dredging is all you need for now, Watermaster is a highly capable suction dredger. Backhoe dredging, vegetation removal, pile driving and other capabilities are simply a bonus, ready whenever you may need them later.

25/09/2026

A different kind of Caribbean cruise. 😎

This is the amphibious multipurpose Watermaster dredger on its way from one work site to the next in the Dominican Republic.

Watermaster has its own propulsion system and can move on water by itself at up to 4 knots (about 7 km/h), so no tugboat is needed. It also has a signal mast and navigation lights for safe travel on waterways.

24/09/2026

08/09/2026

Why Zambia chose Watermaster
September photo from Lake Kariba, Zambia 🇿🇲

Zambia has thousands of kilometres of rivers, lakes and canals to look after. There's always sediment silting up a waterway, invasive aquatic plants blocking navigation, or a reservoir losing depth. Different jobs usually mean different machines to buy, transport, operate and maintain.

Watermaster changes that.

Zambia's Ministry of Transport and Logistics uses a fleet of Watermasters to handle these tasks with the same equipment and operators. Each machine can dredge, excavate, clear vegetation and drive piles. When the job changes, the same machine and operators can take on the new task.

The ministry can use the fleet for planned maintenance, send a Watermaster to urgent work like clearing a blockage before it causes flooding, or bring several together for a bigger project. Each machine launches, moves and anchors itself, with no cranes or tugboats needed. It can also work in shallow, difficult sites that are hard or impossible for conventional equipment.

Simply put, Zambia chose Watermaster to keep its waters cleaner, safer and better functioning, with fewer machines and lower costs.

07/09/2026

🇵🇭 Flood prevention work continues in Metro Manila

Under the government’s Oplan Kontra Baha program, DPWH is clearing, desilting and dredging critical waterways to reduce flooding during the monsoon season.

25/08/2026

🇷🇴 Emergency dredging on the Danube to help secure cooling water for Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant

is now dredging the Danube at Cernavodă, Romania, as one of several emergency measures to secure cooling water for the nuclear power plant.

Exceptionally low water levels have reduced the flow available for cooling and forced both reactors to shut down. By removing accumulated silt and sand from critical sections of the riverbed, the dredging helps improve water flow towards Cernavodă.

The machine and its crew are from Apele Române Crișuri, normally working on the Crișul Repede in Oradea.

Spor la treabă, colegilor noștri ! 💪

Utilajul de dragare de pe Crișul Repede și echipa Apele Române Crișuri au ajuns cu bine pe Dunăre și sunt deja la datorie.

Un exemplu de solidaritate și muncă în echipă. 💧💪🏼 Sprijinim acolo unde este nevoie. 💧