On the 3rd of July, Jan De Nul Group and La Naval shipyard in Bilbao, Spain, have signed an agreement for the construction of a 30,500m³ hopper dredger.

This vessel completes the present investment program for hopper dredgers, ranging from the 46,000m³ mega hoppers Cristóbal Colón and Leiv Eiriksson down to the 3,400m³ Alvar Nuñez Cabeça de Vaca and Sebastiano Caboto.

The new vessel is specifically designed for operation in shallow or confined waters, having a design draught of only 11m and a length between perpendiculars of only 161.5 m.
In the design much attention has been given to efficient use of the installed power, resulting in a low fuel consumption, and lowered emissions.
Two suction pipes, diameter 1,200mm, equipped with submerged dredge pumps of each 3,400kW are installed.
Double walled, electrically driven shore discharging dredge pumps with a total power of 15,000kW will enable discharging the load at a high rate, over long distances.

The Jan De Nul Group fleet already offers the extraordinary capabilities of the 46,000m³ vessels.
It is now complemented with a ship eminently suitable for operation in shallow waters. This will enable Jan De Nul Group to offer economic solutions for any major project, even when draught or size limitations are present.

The vessel will be delivered by the end of 2010.
An option for a second identical vessel has been agreed on.

Source: Jan De Nul, July 2008