The Netherlands: Damen Dredging, Murueta – Winning Team

Damen Dredging Equipment and Astilleros de Murueta are cooperating at present in the new building of two maintenance trailing suction hopper dredgers and one sand mining hopper. Each party contributes its specific knowledge : MURUETA designs and builds the vessels and Damen Dredging designs and builds the dredging equipment – all to the specific customer requirements.

The present projects include 3 very different vessels. There is a 2.600 m3 hopper dredger under construction for the French owner DTM, who wins sand in the Bay of Biscay at -46.5 m. The 700 m trailing pipe will be fitted out with a submerged dredge pump, directly driven by a 600 kW electric motor. The hopper can discharge through bottom doors, as well as by using its bow coupling unit. The length of the vessel is 103 m.

The other 2 dredgers, of 1.500 m3 and 2.600 m3, are being built for DRAGAGES PORTS. This is the French government body which guarantees all dredging activities in the major French sea ports – the dredgers being destined to work at the Ports of Bordeaux and Rouen respectively. As a result the dredgers have been designed for round the clock maintenance dredging. The hopper dredgers, fitted out with a 600 mm and a 800 mm trailing pipe respectively, have been designed with identical conical bottom valves to dump the spoil. The 1.500 m3 hopper dredger will also be fitted out with a degassing system, to boost the vessels efficiency in the affected areas. The respective length of the vessels is 82.1 m and 89.1 m.

All building activities are well on schedule. The construction of the 2.600 m3 sand mining hopper it well on its way at the Bilbao yard, the 1.500 m3 is being built at the Murueta yard. They are due to be delivered in the autumn of this year. The building process of the 2.600 m3 maintenance hopper has just started at the Murueta yard and will be delivered in May 2013.

The current projects are an excellent proof of the mutually beneficial cooperation between the Spanish shipbuilder and the Dutch supplier of dredging equipment.

About Damen Dredging Equipment 

Damen Dredging Equipment is a specialised supplier of dredging equipment and dredging instrumentation & automation. The company, based in Nijkerk, the Netherlands, has over 70 years of experience in the construction of dredging equipment serving the worldwide dredging industry. The dredging tools made are all built to specific customer requirements, making use of a wide range of standard equipment. The company is fully owned by the Damen Shipyards Group.

About Astilleros de MURUETA, S.A.

Astilleros de MURUETA is based near Bilbao, in the north of Spain and has 2 facilities, one in on the River of Bilbao and the other in the River of Gernika. The yard has been building a large range of vessels – from general cargo vessels to stern trawlers, tuna purse seiners and hopper dredgers – for almost 70 years.

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Dredging Today Staff, March 14, 2012; Image: damen