VESSEL REVIEW | Hegemann V – Germany’s Hegemann puts new inland and coastal dredger into service

Dutch shipbuilder the Kooiman Marine Group has handed over a new trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) to the Hegemann Group of Germany for operation by its Hegemann Dredging division.

Hegemann V will be used for maintenance dredging in ports as well as inland and coastal waterways. It has an LOA of 75.9 metres, a beam of 15.8 metres, a draught of three metres, depth of 5.5 metres, and a deadweight of 2,700. The dredger boasts hopper capacities of 1,500 cubic metres of silt or sand and 1,930 cubic metres of lower-density dredged materials.

The dredging equipment supplied by Holland MT includes a dragarm system, inboard dredge pumps, piping, gate valves, a jetwater system, bottom doors, overflows, bow coupling, and a monitor and control system. The material can be unloaded by one or two pumps connected in series, the bottom doors, or a rainbow pump at the bow.

The monitoring system as well as the associated sensors were provided by MSA-Service. This ensures that the dredger can be deployed for 24-hour, year-round operations even with only eight crewmembers.

The propulsion system includes two Schottel SRP 270 840kW, 1.85-metre rudder propellers that enable the dredger to manoeuvre easily even in narrow channels. The drives are powered by diesel-electric systems to allow the vessel to meet strict emissions standards, and they are fully controllable for accurate positioning during unloading operations.

Hegemann V has already begun serving its first project, performing maintenance dredging in the outer harbour at Wilhelmshaven. The TSHD will be operated in and around Wilhelmshaven over the next two years on behalf of the Waterways and Shipping Office for the Weser-Jade-North Sea area of Germany.

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