Proceeding 19 months of construction time, the suction dredger Vasco de Gama - with a hold of 33,000 cu. m. — was launched at the Thyssen Nordseewerke construction yard on November 5, 1999. Owned by the Jan de Nul Group, the dredger, which is the largest in the world, will be utilized for international land reclamation projects. Krupp Fordertechnik GmbH supplied the dredging systems and components.
Before being passed over to its owner during 2000, the dredger is scheduled to carry out high-performance dredging operations.