Van Oord, an international contractor specializing in dredging, marine engineering and offshore projects, will use the option of ordering a third trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) at Keppel FELS Limited.
The vessel is similar to the two vessels that Van Oord ordered in May 2018. Each one has a hopper capacity of approximately 10,500 cubic meters and measures 138 meters in length and 28 meters across the beam, said Van Oord in its latest release.
According to the announcement, “the new hoppers will replace existing vessels and fit in with Van Oord’s aim of making its fleet state-of-the-art and more energy efficient. For example, the climate control system on board will utilize the vessel’s existing cooling and heating sources to recycle energy as efficiently as possible. Another innovative factor is the extensive degree of automation. The automated systems will be more advanced than even before, and integrated vessel data is easily being processed by a shore support center.”
Commenting the latest news, Stefan Hansum, Van Oord’s Plant Design & Construction Manager , said: “In designing the hoppers, we focused on reducing our carbon footprint and working more efficiently by reusing energy and making optimal use of the automated systems in combination with electrical drives.”
The vessels will each be equipped with a suction pipe with submerged e-driven dredge pump, two shore discharge dredge pumps, five bottom doors, and a total installed power of 14,500 kW. The TSHDs will have accommodation for 22 persons.
The first two vessels, Vox Ariane and Vox Apolonia, will be delivered in 2021 and the third vessel is set for delivery in 2022.
According to the company, the new vessels will be Dutch flagged.