DEME’s latest newbuild, the trailing suction hopper dredger Minerva’, was officially named Friday in the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium. The dredger was named by Mrs Marijke Verboven, the wife of Mr Ben Weyts, the Flemish Minister of mobility, public works, Flemish periphery, tourism and animal welfare. During the naming ceremony of ‘Minerva’, DEME also presented ‘Mellina’, the gravel dredger that will be deployed by subsidiary DEME Building Materials.

The fleet entry of ‘Minerva’ marks a milestone for the dredging industry. The 3,500 m3 trailing suction hopper dredger ‘Minerva’ is the first dredging vessel in the world equipped with dual fuel engines and capable of operating in LNG mode. The vessel has a “Green Passport” and “Clean Design” notation, complying and exceeding the most strict international emission requirements.

‘Minerva’ was built at Royal IHC’s shipyard in the Netherlands. The new vessel is part of DEME’s multi-year fleet investment programme, focused on further increasing efficiency, both in terms of productivity and environmental performance. A number of pioneering vessels - many of which are truly the world’s first - will enter the fleet in 2017. DEME invests in dual fuel vessels, capable of running on LNG or diesel fuel, reducing carbon emissions, almost eliminating particulate matter, SOx and NOx. LNG is intrinsically clean and there is no need for (failure prone) exhaust gas cleaning systems.

DEME holds naming ceremony for world’s first LNG powered dredger Minerva

Bart Verboomen, Head of DEME’s Technical Department: “We operate in an industry where our customers invest in a green energy supply and implement measures to limit the impact of their operations on the environment. It is a logical step for DEME to make the transition to cleaner types of fuel such as LNG to meet customer requirements and to comply with changing legislation and emission reduction targets.”

When the total fleet investment programme has been realised, DEME will be one of the very few shipowners capable of using clean LNG as a fuel on such a large scale.

‘Mellina’ joins DEME Building Materials fleet of gravel dredgers

During the naming ceremony of ‘Minerva’, DEME also presented ‘Mellina’, the gravel dredger that will be deployed by subsidiary DEME Building Materials (DBM). This hopper from the DEME fleet has recently been converted and equipped with a new loading and unloading installation for the sustainable dredging and transportation of marine aggregates. DBM is specialised in the extraction, transport, processing and supply of marine aggregates for the European construction industry. ‘Mellina’ will further strengthen DEME Building Materials’ position as one of the leading marine aggregate dredging companies in Europe.

Source: DEME