Raynaert, which is due to go into service with DEME Group company Baggerwerken Decloedt in March of next year, is an identical twin to Marieke, which was put into service with DEME Group company Dredging International in September and is currently dredging a new navigation channel into the Russian port of St Petersburg. Brabo will also be commissioned next year, to be followed by the 9,000m3 trailer Breydel, also for DEME, which will be commissioned in 2008. Shortly after the launch of Raynaert, IHC Holland Merwede subsidiary IHC Holland Dredgers BV announced an order for two more 5,600m3 trailers for Dutch dredging giant Royal Boskalis Westminster nv. These vessels are due for delivery at the end of 2008 and 2009 respectively.

With the slipways at its yards in Kinerdijk, Sliedrecht, and Hardinxveld-Giessendam booked solid until 2009, IHC has reactivated the yard at Krimpen aan den Ijssel for the construction of vessels for its other major market, offshore. A concurrent challenge for almost all workboat builders is the lengthening lead times for the delivery of engines and other critical components such as winches. Engine delivery times can now extend up to two and a half years. A particular complication for dredgers is demand exceeding supplier capacity to produce extremely high specification castings for dredge pumps and other essential equipment.

Like Marieke, Raynaert is an extrapolation of the very successful trailing suction hopper dredger Pallieter, which went into service for DEME in 2004. The design philosophy reflects the ultimate goal to achieve maximum operational flexibility when performing specialised dredging activities. Raynaert will be equally at home performing shallow water maintenance dredging, harbour and fairway deepening, beach nourishment, or land reclamation for new port developments. This versatility was achieved by combining a relatively low weight for the 97.5m LOA vessel with a high loading capacity. The dredger has a total installed power of 6,776 kW and will reach 12.8 knots fully loaded. At its maximum draught of 7.1m, Raynaert will have a carrying capacity of 8,400 tons, resulting in a silt density in the hopper of 1.5 t/m3. During the dredging process almost no water is added to the dredged material. The in-situ density of the material means that almost no overflow is produced when filling the hopper, a very environmentally friendly credential to present to an often hostile world.

For the DEME Group, which hopes to achieve €1 billion in turnover this year, Raynaert joins a dredging fleet of some 75 main vessels operating globally and backed by a wide range of support boats and auxiliary equipment. The Group’s main dredging contractor, Dredging International, has over 60 works in progress on all continents, including projects in Qatar, India, China, Australia, Nigeria, Angola, Venezuela, Brazil, Russia and Finland.

MJ Information No: 22502