The naming ceremony of DEME’s 3.500m³ LNG-powered trailing suction dredger Minerva took place today in Zeebrugge, Belgium.
The dredger was named by Mrs Marijke Verboven, the wife of Mr Ben Weyts, the Flemish Minister of mobility, public works, Flemish periphery, tourism and animal welfare.
During the naming ceremony, DEME also presented Mellina, the gravel dredger that will be deployed by subsidiary DEME Building Materials.
The TSHD Minerva, launched on December 3, 2016 at Royal IHC’s shipyard in Kinderdijk, is the first vessel of this kind in the world.
This dual fuel (diesel and LNG) dredger, powered by ABC (Anglo Belgian Corporation), has a ‘Green Passport’ and a ‘Clean Design’ notation, complying and exceeding with the strictest international emission requirements.
Royal IHC is also building another LNG-powered vessel for DEME. The 7.950m³ trailing suction hopper dredger Scheldt River, the second dredging vessel in the world that is equipped with dual fuel engines, was launched at IHC’s shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel in January.
Bart Verboomen, Head of DEME’s Technical Departments, said: “We operate in an industry where our customers invest in a green energy supply and implement measures to limit the impact of their operations on the environment. It is a logical step for DEME to make the transition to cleaner types of fuel such as LNG to meet customer requirements and to comply with changing legislation and emission reduction targets.”
Ships under this special program get a maximum dry-dock interval of 7.5 years (instead of 5 years) by replacing certain dry-dockings with in-water surveys.
DEME and Royal IHC have also won a DPC Innovation Award in London for the world’s first liquefied natural gas-powered TSHDs.