On Saturday, 16 November 2019, DEME and Royal IHC 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, the company said in its release.
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.