Van Oord orders LNG fueled hopper dredge duo at Singmarine

MAY 16, 2018 — Rotterdam headquartered Van Oord has ordered two LNG dual fueled trailing suction hopper dredges with a hopper capacity of 10,500 cu.m each. They will be built at Keppel Offshore & Marine subsidiary Keppel Singmarine’s shipyard in Singapore.

The new vessels will be Dutch flagged. They are expected to be completed in fourth quarter 2020 and second quarter 2021 respectively. As part of the contracts, Van Oord has an option to order a third dredge to be exercised within one year.

Van Oord says the order is in line with its investment program. The new dredges will replace existing vessels and fit in with Van Oord’s aim of making its fleet more economical and energy efficient.

Each vessel measures 138 m in length and 28 m across the beam. The vessels will be equipped with one 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. They will have accommodations for 22 persons.

“These state-of-the-art vessels will boost the mid-class section of our fleet of trailing suction hopper dredgers,” says Van Oord COO Paul Verheul. “Last month we launched our first LNG powered crane vessel. By investing in these two hoppers, we’ll be gaining more experience using LNG as an alternative fuel in this category of dredging equipment.”

Van Oord designed the vessels in-house in cooperation with DEKC Maritime of the Netherlands. The engineering team paid special attention to the vessels’ energy efficiency. Both dredges qualify as Tier III vessels (IMO emission standards) and will be fitted with dual fuel engines. The design includes several features that will reduce fuel consumption, and consequently carbon emissions, by a considerable margin. The vessels are being equipped with innovative and sustainable systems and will obtain a Green Passport and Clean Ship Notation.

Mr. Abu Bakar, Managing Director (Gas & Specialized Vessels), Keppel O&M, said, “We are pleased to be awarded these contracts by our new partner Van Oord. Keppel is currently constructing five other dredges, and we are able to build on our experience and capabilities to meet Van Oord’s needs. This new order for dredgers of high specifications attests to our strength as a specialized shipbuilder.”

Mr. Jaap de Jong, Staff Director, Ship Management Department at Van Oord, said, “We are pleased to work with Keppel on these modern and environmentally-friendly dredges which will strengthen our mid-class dredge fleet as well as our presence in the region. Last month we already launched our first LNG powered crane vessel. The TSHDs will be the first LNG hopper dredges in our fleet. We look forward to this partnership with Keppel as we adopt LNG as a marine fuel to reduce our global carbon footprint.”

TSHDs are mainly used for dredging loose and soft soils such as sand, gravel, silt or clay. The dredged material can be deposited on the seabed through bottom doors or discharged through a floating pipeline to shore and used for land reclamation.