Suez Canal Orders Two Cutter Suction Dredgers

The Egyptian Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has placed an order for two custom-built 29,190kW heavy-duty rock cutter suction dredgers (CSDs).

SCA has signed a contract with Royal IHC for the design and construction of two CSDs, which will be built in The Netherlands and are expected to be delivered in 2020

The vessels will have an overall length of 147.4 meters and provide a maximum dredging depth of 35 meters. In addition, they will offer accommodation facilities for 73 people. Equipped with one submerged – and two inboard – dredge pumps, the installed cutter power will be 4,800kW.

A standardized IHC Beaver 45 CSD will also be built by IHC at SCA’s shipyard in Egypt, with the aim of improving the local manufacturing capacity for this type of dredging equipment. Alongside the delivery of the three CSDs to SCA, a IHC training program will be provided, as well as a CSD simulator and a large package of spare parts.

SCA issues and enforces the rules of navigation in the Suez Canal, as well as overseeing other regulations that contribute to an effective and orderly waterway. The CSDs have been specifically designed in close cooperation with SCA, and will be used to maintain and improve the artificial sea-level area that connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

“Signing this contract is of great importance for SCA,” said SCA Chairman and Managing Director, Admiral Mohab Mohamed Hussien Mameesh. “It is a serious step towards upgrading our fleet of dredgers, and means that we will have the world’s largest CSDs in terms of dimensions and total power. The new state-of-the-art CSDs from Royal IHC will enable SCA to participate in deepening and widening the waterway and help realize the Egyptian plan to develop local ports”. "We are honored that SCA has placed its trust in our company once again,” says IHC’s Executive Director Sales Arnold den Boon. “We are also proud that our long-standing relationship has resulted in the award of this contract and are looking forward to further strengthening our partnership.”