The vessel is due for delivery in 2008 and an option has been agreed for a second identical vessel for delivery in 2009.

With an unprecedented volume of land reclamation works underway or planned worldwide, capital dredging projects will be the vessels’ primary activity but with the capability to dredge at depths of 155m, they will have the versatility to also perform offshore tasks such as pipeline trenching and burial.

The mega-dredgers will weigh in at 78,000 dwt and measure 223m LOA, with a beam of 41m and a loaded draught of 15.15m. Twin 19,200 kW propulsion engines will ensure operational efficiency by cycling the vessels between sand winning areas and reclamation sites at a speed of 18 knots.

Two 6,500 kW dredge pumps will load dredged material through a suction pipe of 1,300mm diameter whilst two 8,000 kW units will be used for pumping to shore.

This is not the first time that Jan De Nul has substantially raised the bar in mega-dredger construction. When the ‘Vasco da Gama’ was delivered in 2000 from the Thyssen Nordseewerke yard in Germany it represented a 40% capacity increase beyond the largest dredger of its day. Neither is it the first time the contractor has ventured beyond the Netherlands for major newbuildings. Following the Vasco da Gama at Emden, Jan De Nul had a number of vessels built in yards then controlled by Izar in Spain. The 16,500m3 trailer ‘Juan Sebastian de Elcano’ was built at Sestao in 2002, followed by the 11,300m3 sister ships ‘Fillippo Brunelleschi’ and ‘Francis Beaufort’, also at Seatao the following year. The 4,400m3 twins ‘Taccola’ and ‘Francesco di Giorgio’ were also delivered in 2003 by Izar’s Astilleros de Gijon.

Always adventurous, and impatient for more immediate delivery dates, Jan De Nul took delivery of the 3,700m3 trailer ‘De Bougainville’ in China last year and has two 7,500m3 dredgers under build at the Heun Woo Steel Company in South Korea for delivery in August and November of 2008.