DEME Group recently held a virtual christening ceremony for its two newest trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHDs), the 8,300-cubic-metre Bonny River and the 15,000-cubic-metre Meuse River.
Bonny River is able to dredge very hard soils and can work in deep waters of more than 100 metres. It also has a very long suction pipe and large carrying capacity, with a limited draught.
Bonny River can also perform closed loop dredging, whereby the turbidity generated by the process water is eliminated, making it particularly important in environmentally sensitive areas. In addition, the shape of the hull and two-speed propulsion gearbox reduce fuel consumption considerably.
Meanwhile, Meuse River combines a very shallow draught and a dynamic positioning/dynamic tracking (DP/DT) system to enhance manoeuvrability and position keeping, just like sister vessel Scheldt River.
Both dredgers are designed to have dual fuel capability, making it possible for them to operate on LNG.