The DEME’s new trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) ‘Bonny River’, built at Royal IHC’s Chinese partner yard COSCO Guangdong Shipyard, is propelled by SCHOTTEL, the German propulsion expert.
Recently handed over to the Belgian dredging company DEME, the new TSHD is driven by controllable pitch propellers and transverse thrusters from the German company.
With a 15,000m³ capacity, the vessel is capable of dredging hard soil and able to work in water depths of more than 100m.
Jan Gabriel, Head of the Technical Construction and Conversion Department at the DEME Group , said: “The design of the ‘Bonny River’ is inspired by a drive to continuously innovate from an ecological and efficiency perspective.”
“As such, DEME continues to be at the forefront of the industry and significantly reduces the environmental impact of its operations. SCHOTTEL’s propulsion solutions fit in this strategy.”
SCHOTTEL SCPs and STTs for maximum maneuverability
The DEME’s new TSHD is driven by two SCHOTTEL Controllable Pitch Propellers type SCP 129 4-XG with an input power of 8,000 kW each and a propeller diameter of 4.5m. It reaches a speed of approximately 16 knots.
Beyond this, maximum maneuverability and propulsion efficiency are provided by tunnel thrusters – two STT 3 FP (750 kW each) and one STT 5 FP (1,500 kW) – which can be demounted from above.
Together with SCHOTTEL’s control partner NORIS and IHC Systems, a complete power management system was also developed. This system controls the mechanically driven dredging pump, PTOs and the propellers without overloading the dual-fuel engines.