Posted on July 23, 2018
Rotterdam based Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors has ordered two trailing suction hopper dredgers, both of 10,500m3 capacity.
In keeping with Van Oord’s commitment to sustainability, the vessels will both be fitted with an LNG installation. The new hoppers will replace existing vessels as the company seeks to make its fleet more economical and energy efficient. To be built by Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd at its Singapore yard, both vessels will be delivered in 2021. The 138m LOA dredgers will also feature a 28m beam. They will each be equipped with a single suction pipe with a submerged, electrically driven dredge pump, two shore discharge dredge pumps, five bottom doors and a total installed power of 14,500 kW. They will have crew accommodation for 22 people.
The engineering team paid special attention to the vessels’ energy efficiency. Both qualify as Tier III vessels under IMO emission standards and will be fitted with dual-fuel engines. The design includes several features that will reduce fuel consumption and consequential carbon emissions by a substantial margin. The vessels are being equipped with with innovative and sustainable systems and will obtain both Green Passport and Clean Ship notations. Van Oord designed the vessels in-house in cooperation with DEKC Maritime of the Netherlands.
Van Oord chief operating officer Paul Verheul said, “These state of the art vessels will boost the mid-class section of our fleet of trailing suction hopper dredgers. Last month we launched our first LNG powered crane vessel. By investing in these two hoppers, we’ll be gaining more experience using LNG as an alternative fuel in this category of dredging equipment.”
The new vesels will be Dutch flagged. Van Oord’s fleet currently consists of more than 100 vessels, with over 20 trailing suction hopper dredgers ranging in capacity rom 1,000m3 to 38,000m3. Van Oord operates these vessels to conduct a wide range of global activities such as coastal protection, port construction, waterway deepening and land reclamation.
In its home market, Van Oord has just been awarded a contract to dredge an extra chanel to the south of the Marker Wadden by the Rijkswaterstaat, acting on behalf of the Dutch Nature Preservation Society.
Dredging the channel will create more space for the underwater capture of silt. It will contribute to restoring the environmental and water quality of the Markermeer and meet the objectives for the Future-Proof Ecological System.
Source: Maritime Journal
