Posted on February 1, 2023
The christening ceremony of the two custom designed and custom build Water Injection Dredgers (WID) ‘Maas’ and ‘Mersey’ took place on the 30th of June at the office of Van Oord in Rotterdam. The ships are two state-of-the-art WID’s which Van Oord has ordered at the shipyard.
The hybrid vessels were developed by Kooiman Engineering in close cooperation with Van Oord. Two electrically driven pumps deliver water under high pressure, or with a lot of volume through the U-shaped water injection pipe located at the rear of the ship. With this pipe, water is injected into the soil, releasing sediment which is flushed away by the current. Multiple injection methods are possible, giving the ship optimal usability.
The ships measure (length and width including the water injection pipe) 43.07 x 12.40 meters with a depth 3.40 meters.
“The first sea trial with the ‘Maas’ was performed some time ago.” says Maarten Kooiman, project manager of the shipyard. “The sea trials were intensive. The ship is equipped with many systems that reduce emissions and increase employability. We tested these extensively.” The ship has a battery-hybrid energy management. Maarten continues: “With the flexibility of 1 or 2 diesel generators, which meet the IMO Tier 3 and Stage V emission requirements, the on-board network is powered. In addition, heat from the exhaust gases is converted into electrical power which is fed back into the grid.”
“In addition to the development of a sustainable ship, we also have chosen to optimize the dredging process” reports Rick Jansen, project manager New Building at Van Oord. “The ship is equipped with Dynamic Positioning. The ship is very maneuverable because of the two electrically driven rudder propellers and the electrically driven bow thruster” continues Rick. “With the very low draught, these vessels are in particular suitable for maintenance dredging in shallow ports.”
Maarten: “We looked at the shape of the underwater vessel in detail. Within the length, width and draught restrictions, the design is hydrodynamically optimized and the resistance minimized. This allows less power to be installed, which directly results in a reduction in fuel consumption during sailing and even less CO2 emissions. In addition, the noise level of the ship is extremely low, resulting in maximum comfort for the crew.”
Kooiman Marine Group has all the disciplines necessary for the design, construction and delivery of new ships in house. Craftsmanship and an eye for quality are the basis for tailor-made ships. With the deliveries of the WID ‘Maas’ and ‘Mersey’ for Van Oord, Kooiman Marine Group broadens its portfolio in the dredging market, showing that custom build ships also fit in the port and waterway maintenance.
