Marine civil engineering giant Van Oord has named the second dredger of three triplets due to come online in the next couple of years.
Vox Apolonia’is the second trailing suction hopper dredger in the Van Oord portfolio to be equipped with an LNG fuel system. She comes after Vox Ariane, which was christened last June, and Vox Alexia, which is in the final stages of construction in Singapore.
Each vessel has a hopper capacity of about 10,500m3 and measures 137.5m x 27.6m.
Vox Apolonia was named at Rotterdam in a two-day event, where she was moored along the Wilhelminakade in the city centre.
“Van Oord is investing in expertise, equipment and vessels to operate a more sustainable fleet in order to achieve its net-zero emission targets by 2050,” the company says. “The three new vessels will help Van Oord accomplish the aim of modernising its fleet and making it more economical and energy efficient. Their LNG fuel system and energy efficient design will reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions substantially.”
Vox Apolonia is named after Apolonia Adriana van Oord-Visser, who was married to Jac G van Oord, the founder of the Utrecht branch of the company.
Apolonia was one of the first board members and the first woman to join the supervisory board.