DEME’s giant cutter suction dredger ‘Spartacus’ has been successfully launched at the Royal IHC shipyard in Krimpen aan den Ijssel in the Netherlands. With a total installed capacity of 44,180 kW, ‘Spartacus’ is simply the most powerful and environmental friendly cutter suction dredger (CSD) that has ever been built.
‘Spartacus is the world’s largest and the first to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The four main engines can run on LNG, marine diesel oil (MDO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO). The two auxiliary engines also incorporate dual-fuel technology.
IHC and DEME acquired extensive knowledge during the build of LNG-powered trailing suction hopper dredgers ‘Minerva’ and ‘Scheldt River’. This know-how was invaluable throughout the construction of ‘Spartacus’.
As the principle LNG-powered CSD in the world, ‘Spartacus’ sets a new benchmark in the industry. It also features several additional innovations, such as a waste heat recovery system, a one-man operated dredge control and a heavy-duty cutter ladder that can reach a dredging depth of 45 m.
A number of pioneering vessels recently entered the DEME fleet, including the dual-fuel dredgers ‘Minerva’ and ‘Scheldt River’ in 2017, the cable installation vessel ‘Living Stone’ and DP2 jack-up platform ‘Apollo’ in 2018. Other innovative vessels under construction include the 15,000 m³ trailing suction hopper dredger ‘Bonny River’ and the next generation offshore installation vessel ‘Orion’. Also, in October 2018 DEME announced the order of two new trailing suction hopper dredgers and two split barges, reinforcing the fleet in 2020.
About DEME
The Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group DEME is an international market leader for complex marine engineering works.
Building on more than 140 years of experience and know-how, DEME has moved into several related sectors, such as the financing of marine engineering and environmental projects, executing complex EPC related marine engineering projects including civil engineering works, the development and construction of renewable energy projects, providing services for the oil, gas and energy sector, the decontaminating and recycling of polluted soils and silts, the harvesting of marine resources, etc.