Keel laying double for DEME’s growing fleet

IHC Merwede shipyards will build a new trailing suction hopper dredger with a hopper capacity of 11,650 m3 and a powerful self propelled sea going rock cutter dredger with a total installed output of 28,000 kW. The trailer Breughel will be built at the shipyard in Krimpen aan de Ijssel while the cutter dredger Ambiorix will be built in Hardinxveld.

The new TSHD Breughel will have a carrying capacity of over 18,000 tons, fitting into DEME’s medium size trailing suction hopper dredger segment which includes the Brabo and Breydel, added to the fleet in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The ship will have a port side 1,200mm diameter suction pipe and will be able to dredge at depths of up to 43m.

Breughel was designed for dredging in both deep and shallow waters, enabling the ship to offer extensive versatility. Even with a maximum load, it will only have a draught of 8.151m on dredging mark, making it well suited to a range of applications, including both maintenance work in deltas and land reclamation projects where long distance transport of sand is required

The ship combines all of the latest developments in dredging technology. During the design phase, a great deal of attention was paid to minimising CO2 emissions. This will allow the ship to be labelled as having the best CO2 emissions per m3 in its class and, subsequently, to it being awarded a Green Certificate.

With its total installed power of 28,000 kW, the new rock cutter dredger Ambiorix will be one of the most powerful cutter dredgers in the entire dredging industry. The ship is self propelled and will therefore be able to travel around the world autonomously for DEME. It will also become the new flagship for the DEME cutter fleet and will follow the positive tracks of the rock cutter dredger D’Artagnan, which was commissioned in 2005.

The new ship will carry the very latest technology and will constitute a further evolution of the successful D’Artagnan. Ambiorix will be fitted with a barge loading system. The flexible spud system will allow operations in larger swell, enabling higher productivity and the ability to work in the most challenging conditions.

The ship will be equipped with a ‘moonpool’, enabling surveying to take place during dredging and thus increasing the efficiency of the dredging process. Ambiorix will have the in-house developed D.I.O.R.I.T.E. system installed, in which sophisticated artificial intelligence controls the dredging process, further optimising efficiency and productivity.

This extremely powerful cutter suction dredger will have a huge range in terms of dredging depth, from shallow dredging at a depth of 6m to a maximum of 35m, and will be able to efficiently tackle all types of soil, including soft rock.

Both vessels are part of a DEME Group investment programme which runs from 2008 to 2012 and during which 15 new vessels will be added to the DEME fleet. Seven vessels of this series have already been launched. Among the eight vessels under construction are, apart from Breughel and Ambiorix, the 5,000 m³ gravel dredger Victor Horta, to be launched this month; the fall pipe vessel Flintstone, with a carrying capacity of 19,000 tons; the self propelled sea going cutter dredgers Al Jarraf and Amazone, each with a total installed power of 12,860 kW; the mega trailer Congo River, with a hopper capacity of 30,000 m3; and the jack-up vessel Neptune.