• 15 Jan 2019

A new dredging vessel powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been christened in the Dutch Port of Rotterdam on January 11 at Holland Amerikakade.

The LNG-powered trailing suction hopper dredger, named Ecodelta, was built at the Dutch yard Barkmeijer for shipping company Van der Kamp. The ship is 134.10 meters long and 21.40 meters wide, and equipped with a 6,000 cubic meters capacity sediment storage tank.

The LNG fuel tank, built by the Dutch Cryonorm Group, specialist in turn-key small and mid scale LNG systems, Crynorm, has a capacity of 325 cubic meters; with an overall length of about 12 meters, it weighs about 88 tons.

Ecodelta will replace an old dredger as part of a maintenance contract signed between the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Bagger & Aannemingsmaatschappij Van der Kamp for keeping the port basins at the correct depth until 2023.

Distinguishing it from a conventional dredger, the Ecodelta is equipped with two ‘sweeparms’ to remove oil from the water surface, allowing it to quickly react to emergency response situations.

Source: Dredging Today