The dredger is designed to work at depths to 18m, its Grotius type 5045HD dredge pump driven by a 1,119kW Caterpillar 3512 engine which delivers constant power between 1,300 and 1,600rpm for easy adaptability to working conditions. The dredge pump working through the 550mm internal diameter pipeline will discharge silt up to 4km away and carries heavier sand up to 1km.

The 320kW auxiliary Caterpillar 33406 powers a 30kVA genset for the hydraulic installation. All winches are hydraulically driven;

two fore side winches, a ladder hoisting winch, and three aft positioned winches working on a Christmas tree which is attached to the aft side of the main pontoon.

The spacious control cabin is situated on top of the day accommodation and both are air conditioned. Dredging instrumentation on board includes a dredging depth indicator, the vacuum and pressure of the dredge pump, the pressure of the gland water pump and the cutter flush pump as well as the complete positioning and survey system, which includes kit for the dredger, the survey launch, and a separate post-processing station for the company's office.

The Type BS550 booster station has an identical dredge pump and diesel engine and is built in a vandal-proof 30' container which facilitates transport and hoisting.

The discharge distances achieved by the dredger and booster station working in series is some 8km for silt and 2.5km for coarse sand.

The 4km pipeline includes 1km which is floating with the rest a shore line. The floating part consists of steel pipes with floaters and self-floating rubber hoses. The equipment is scheduled to arrive on site in Africa in December of this year and in January 2004.

MJ Information No: 18735