DEME names second LNG-fueled dredger

DEME announced that its Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger ‘Scheldt River’ was officially named in Zwijndrecht, Belgium.

The 8,400 m³ ‘Scheldt River’ is the second dredger in the DEME fleet equipped with dual fuel engines and can operate in LNG mode, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, almost eliminating sulphur, NOx and particle emissions. The vessel is also equipped with two speed propulsion gear boxes and combinatory mode propeller thrust control, which will result in at least 10% fuel savings during dredging operations.

The vessel, built at Royal IHC’s shipyard in the Netherlands, is part of DEME’s multi-year fleet investment programme, focused on further increasing efficiency, both in terms of productivity and environmental performance.

Earlier this year, the dual fuel Trailing Suction Hopper ‘Minerva’ entered the DEME fleet and is currently executing trenching works for the Rentel offshore wind farm, near the Belgian coast. In the near future, both ‘Scheldt River’ and ‘Minerva’ will be deployed for the seabed preparation for Elia’s Modular Offshore Grid (electricity plug) in the North Sea.