Royal IHC says that on Saturday, 16 November 2019, together with DEME it successfully launched the 7,950m³ trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) MEUSE RIVER. The ceremony took place at IHC’s shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel, the Netherlands.
MEUSE RIVER has the same innovative design as the award winning IHC-built TSHD SCHELDT RIVER, which joined the DEME fleet in 2017 and since then operated non-stop on waterways and access channels in Europe.
MEUSE RIVER features several energy smart technologies, developed by DEME and IHC, such as a hybrid dredge pump drive system to reduce the effect of load variations. For automation of the dredging process, IHC developed the intelligent IHC ECO automation package, which results
in high dredge performance. Additionally, fuel efficiency is achieved with two-speed propulsion and combinator mode, optimising fuel consumption in sailing and dredging conditions.
The vessel will reinforce the DEME fleet in 2020.
Luc Vandenbulcke, CEO of DEME: “With our multi-year investment programme, we aim to operate the most technologically advanced fleet in the industry. We want to make sure our fleet is futureproof by continually pursuing enhanced productivity and efficiency goals. Building on the success of our pioneering TSHD SCHELDT RIVER we can provide our customers with an identical, versatile and highly efficient vessel for a wide range of dredging activities.”
Dave Vander Heyde, CEO of Royal IHC: “We are proud that after we’ve successfully delivered SCHELDT RIVER to DEME, we’ve reached this milestone for MEUSE RIVER – another IHC-built TSHD prefitted to be capable of operating on LNG. The partnership with DEME has proven to be successful in the past, and we are pleased to continue our partnership with them by adding more value and technical capabilities to their advanced fleet.”
About Royal IHC
Royal IHC is a supplier of innovative and efficient equipment, vessels and services for the offshore, dredging and wet mining markets. IHC has in-depth knowledge and expertise of engineering and manufacturing high-performance integrated vessels and equipment, and providing sustainable services. The Company's has head office in The Netherlands with 3,000 employees working from sites and offices on a global basis. Dredging operators, oil and gas corporations, offshore contractors, mining houses and government authorities all over the world benefit from IHC’s high-quality solutions and services.
About DEME
The Belgian dredging, marine engineering and environmental group DEME is a global solutions provider specialising in dredging works and land reclamation, offshore marine engineering projects, service provision to oil and gas companies, the installation of offshore wind farms, environmental activities such as soil remediation and sludge recycling, redevelopment of brownfield sites and wreck salvage. DEME owns and operates state-of-the-art fleet of 100 vessels for dredging and marine engineering works. DEME employs 5,200 highly skilled professionals across the globe. In 2018 DEME reported a turnover of 2.65 billion euros.