• 06 Mar 2017

The belgian DEME Group has announced that it has ordered two next generation vessels, Spartacus and Orion, both LNG-fuelled.

The 164 metres long ‘Spartacus’ will be the world’s greatest LNG-powered Cutter Suction Dredger and follows the launch of the first LNG-powered Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers ‘Minerva’ (83.5m length) and ‘Scheldt River’ (116 m), respectively in December 2016 and January 2017. The combination of power, size and new innovations make mega cutter ‘Spartacus’ a new benchmark in the dredging industry. ‘Spartacus’ will be built at Royal IHC in the Netherlands and will be delivered in the summer of 2019.

With a total installed capacity of 44,180 kW ‘Spartacus’ will be the most powerful Cutter Suction Dredger that has ever been built. The vessel’s power will enable her to cut harder soils at speeds that have not been possible before. This means that works can be taken on by the cutter dredger rather than relying on the use of dynamite and blasting.

The Orion will be constructed by COSCO in China, and is scheduled for delivery in 2019. It will have a total installed capacity of 44,180 kW, and will feature a high-tech crane with a lifting capacity of 3,000 ton at more than 50 m. The loads can be lifted to more than 170 m high. The vessel will be 216.5 m long and capable of accommodating a 131-person crew.

Spartacus and Orion will feature dual-fuel engines and be capable of running on LNG. Both will have a Green Passport and Clean Design notation, as well as other environmental innovations on board, such as a waste heat recovery system that converts heat from the exhaust gasses and cooling water into electrical energy.

Orion will be deployed by a subsidiary of DEME, GeoSea, which will use it for the construction of the largest offshore wind farms, to service the oil and gas industry, and for the decommissioning of offshore installations.