The Chinese Dredging Association (CHIDA) recently held its Board Exchange Meeting in Shanghai. IHC was invited to showcase the company’s sustainable dredging innovations. Over 300 people of the Chinese dredging industry attended the event, including top representatives and delegations from all the major Chinese dredging companies, the company said in its press release.
The conference started with a definition of ‘sustainability’ and how this global trend is influencing the dredging industry. IHC’s Innovation Manager Hopper Dredgers Mr Erik van der Blom and Mr Shi Wei, Assistant Area Manager China demonstrated the company’s sustainable solutions for dredging vessels and equipment.
New emission regulations initiated by the International Maritime Organisation, which now also apply to three of China’s major harbour areas, were addressed. With this in mind, the impact of strict emission regulations on vessel design and dredging operations was evaluated.
The meeting continued with the topic of LNG-fuelled hopper dredgers, the operational issues were highlighted as well as the complexity of integrating LNG fuel systems. The SCHELDT RIVER and MINERVA, currently being constructed by IHC for DEME, were presented as the world's first LNG-fuelled hopper dredgers.
In the second part of the conference, a talk was delivered on fuel-saving innovations. Measuring operational profiles was discussed as being a suitable method of identifying potential fuel savings for dredging vessels.
Other options included drivetrain design, hull shape optimisation and IHC's Eco Control Package. Two-speed propulsion and CFD-designed dredging components were also mentioned as promising new developments. IHC’s newly developed Plumigator® overflow was showcased as a cutting-edge system in turbidity reduction.