Industry News
Dredging Bits
Jan De Nul's Water Injection Dredger Pancho Launched
Jan De Nul Group’s new water injection dredger Pancho was launched February 16 at the Neptune Marine shipyard near Dordrecht in the Netherlands. The dredger will be used mainly in the Argentine dredging market, but will be available for projects elsewhere as well.
The design of this newbuild vessel is based on an existing vessel design from Neptune’s workboat portfolio. Together with the engineering department of Neptune, Jan De Nul integrates its in-house built dredging equipment, including the dredge pump and dredge pipes, the winches, hydraulics and the necessary equipment for an adapted pipeline routing on the fore ship.
Jan Van de Velde, Head of the Newbuilding Department at Jan De Nul Group, said, “The experience with our existing fleet of water injection dredgers taught us that there was a need for a more compact vessel to reach the smaller corners in ports and rivers. However, despite her compact character, the Pancho has a depth range of more than 20 meters. Perfect for maintenance dredging. We are looking forward to the further completion of this new dredger together with the Neptune Marine Shipyard, with the intention of taking the Pancho into service in March 2022.”
Jan De Nul said it has ordered a second water injection dredger, with the same dimensions and characteristics, from the same shipyard. The company currently has five water injection dredging vessels in its fleet, including the Pancho and sister vessel presently under construction.
Royal IHC Delivers Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger to Mexico's SEMAR
Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC has delivered a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) to SEMAR (Secretaria de Marina) at the Port of Veracruz in Mexico.
The Bahia San Carlos dredger, of the Easydredge 2700 type, was built from stock at the Krimpen aan de IJssel and Kinderdijk shipyards in the Netherlands. Being built from the stock program allowed Royal IHC to comply with SEMAR’s request for an ultra-short delivery time, the Dutch company said.
Following sea trials in the North Sea in October, the new vessel was delivered in December for deployment on a national maintenance program by the Mexican Navy. This will involve deepening rivers on the country’s east coast and helping to prevent flooding in Tabasco.
"As the Easydredge is a standardized series of vessels, it benefits from short lead times and is a cost-effective option for customers seeking quick delivery. The vessels are equipped to perform all normal dredging operations, are easy to operate. Their straightforward design and reliability of the vessel incorporate decades of hopper dredge innovation and will contribute to the efficiency of the SEMAR dredge fleet," Royal IHC explained.
The Bahia San Carlos is the sixth Easydredge vessel to be sold by Royal IHC and the company said it believed demand for its modular TSHDs would increase further. The line-up comprises four vessel sizes: Easydredge 700, 1700, 2700 and 3700, which range in volume from 500 to 4,000m3.
New Dredges Enter Service in Bangladesh
DSC Dredge and Deep Diggers Ltd announced the launch of a new 18-inch Shark Class dredge manufactured in Bangladesh.
In 2019 U.S.-based cutter suction dredge manufacturer DSC Dredge signed a memorandum of understanding with Deep Diggers Ltd, Bangladesh with a project focus of providing an engineering design and component package. Deep Diggers imported all the dredge components from DSC including the Caterpillar diesel engine, dredge pump, gearbox, cutter assembly, winches, hydraulic system and lever room and controls. All steel fabrication including the hull, side pontoons, ladder and spuds were built by Deep Diggers at their facility in Chattogram, Bangladesh. Deep Diggers installed all the DSC supplied components including the complete hydraulic and electrical systems. After a year building, two 18” Shark Class dredges have been launched. DSC provided product support for 30 days onsite to help commission the two new dredges and provide crew training in operations and maintenance.
Director of International Dredge Sales at DSC Dredge, Charles Sinunu commented, “Deep Diggers Chairman Gauhar Siraj Jamil and his directors had the wisdom and confidence that they could produce quality dredges with the support from DSC. I expected some challenges with the first build but everything went very smoothly. We have proved the concept to ourselves and to the local market. We look forward to a very long relationship with Deep Diggers.”
The 18” Shark Model SH-10300-200-56D has the advantage to dig to 17m (56 ft) below the surface, deeper than most of the dredges in Bangladesh. The dredges built in Bangladesh will use the same advanced components as DSC dredges built in the U.S. including variable displacement-load sense and variable displacement-closed loop systems. They are powered by a single Caterpillar C32 diesel engine rated 1125 hp and features a 200 hp cutter drive.
With the DSC hydraulic system and fuel-efficient Caterpillar engine, this dredge will have a very low cost of operation, DSC said.
One of the Deep Diggers Directors, Omar Sharif (Tuhin), stated, “We were pleased to partner with the premier dredge manufacturer from the USA, DSC Dredge. I have known Charlie Sinunu for more than 15 years and we always hoped that we could find a project together. Now as one of the directors of Deep Diggers and the local representative of DSC, we can build as well as service all DSC dredges in the country. We are factory trained and pride ourselves on providing 24/7/365 service to all DSC clients in Bangladesh. We look forward to building many more dredges in the future with DSC.”
DSC Dredge President and CEO, Bob Wetta commented, “I am extremely proud of the finished product, with all of the setbacks of COVID in 2020, the Deep Diggers manufacturing team stayed diligent in bringing this dredge to life. We look forward to the future and what it holds for our collaboration.”
Työvene Building New Hopper Dredge for Poland
Finnish shipbuilder Työvene said it has secured an approximately €20 million order for a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) from Poland's Maritime Administration.
The vessel design was developed by Työvene and Dutch partners C-Job and Holland Marine Technologies.
"[The project] is a tribute to the Finnish and Dutch shipbuilding tradition and shows the importance of striving for quality and truly understanding the customer’s needs," said Juha Granqvist, CEO of Työvene. "I hope this sends out a positive signal both to Finnish and international customers that to ensure state-of-the-art products, it is crucial to consider other factors than just the price point."
Työvene said it expects to be able to deliver the new TSHD is 21 months. Once completed, the ship will be used for maintenance and preservation work on the five meters deep main waterway from the Gulf of Gdansk through the Vistula Lagoon to the Elbląg River. It will also be used to maintain track depth parameters of smaller ports of the Vistula Lagoon, where depths can be up to 18 meters.