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The Dutch shipyard Royal IHC and Belgium‘s[ds_preview] DEME Group proceed on their »green dredger« project.

DEME’s 7,950 m3 dual fuel trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) »Scheldt River« was launched now at IHC‘s shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel. »After the successful launch of the world’s first LNG-powered hopper »Minerva« on 3 December, I am delighted to see the second IHC-built TSHD capable of operating on LNG – nearing completion,« said IHC‘s Executive Director Shipbuilding, Arjan Klijnsoon.

The shipyard claims to have done »continuous research effort on fuel saving and analysis of operational profiles«. With this, it has developed a two-speed propulsion drive. »In contrast to conventional single speed propulsion, the IHC-patented two-speed gearbox ensures fuel savings when sailing at lower speeds.« DEME‘s newbuildings are the first TSHDs to benefit from this innovation. Another innovation would be the newly developed wing-shaped bow thruster tunnel. This new shape is the result of extensive hydrodynamic analyses and improves the bow thruster performance.

»With this new generation of dual fuel hoppers, DEME is setting new standards in environmental performance for the dredging industry, and we are proud to be at the forefront of these developments,” says Alain Bernard, Director and CEO DEME Group. »Both will comply with the strictest international and local environmental regulations.« The vessels were ordered in early summer 2015.

Data Sheet

Deme, Royal IHC, Dredger