Van Oord orders third dredge at Keppel FELS
Written by Nick Blenkey
Image: Van Oord
Rotterdam headquartered Van Oord has exercised an option to build a third trailing suction hopper dredge at Singapore’s Keppel FELS shipyard. Like two dredges ordered from Keppel Offshore & Marine by Van Oord in May 2018, it will have a hopper capacity of approximately 10,500 cu.m and measure 138 meters in length and 28 meters across the beam.
While the two earlier vessels will be LNG fueled, according to the shipyard, this latest one will be “LNG ready.”
Van Oord says the investment is part of a broader fleet renewal program in its dredging business unit. 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 utilise 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 ever before, and integrated vessel data will be easily processed by a shore support center.
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.
Stefan Hansum, Van Oord’s Plant Design & Construction Manager
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. They will have accommodation for 22 persons. The vessels will obtain a Green Passport and Clean Ship Notation.
The first two vessels, Vox Ariane and Vox Apolonia, will be delivered in 2021. This third vessel will be delivered in 2022.
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