World First: Keppel Delivers EU Stage-V Dredger

Keppel Singmarine’s Nantong, China, shipyard has delivered the world’s first dredger to meet European Union Stage V emissions requirements for inland waterways vessels.

The wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M) said in a press release that has delivered the ultra low emission dredger on time, within budget and with a perfect safety record, strengthening its presence in the non-oil and gas segment.

Built for Jan De Nul and named Afonso de Albuquerque, the ultra-low emission Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) is diesel-electrical powered and comes equipped with an efficient exhaust gas filter system. The resultant emission complies with the requirements of the EU Stage V standards, which set stricter limits on emissions. The second and third dredgers for Jan De Nul are expected to be delivered later this quarter.

Abu Bakar, Managing Director (Gas & Specialised Vessels), Keppel O&M, said, "We are pleased to work with Jan De Nul in their pursuit of greener operations with the delivery of the world's first EU Stage V dredger. It is testament to Keppel's newbuild capabilities and technological expertise, and we look forward to extending this track record with the additional four state-of-the-art dredgers that we are building for Jan De Nul."

Robby De Backer, Director of Newbuilding Department of Jan De Nul Group, said, "We are delighted to be at the forefront of the industry's push for more environmental-friendly solutions with this ultra-low emission vessel that will enable dredging at the lowest levels of emissions to date. The Keppel team has demonstrated the capability to provide value-added engineering solutions and excellent execution, which is why we ordered five dredgers from them. We look forward to the smooth delivery of the upcoming dredgers."

The first-of-its-kind dredger was built in Keppel's shipyard in Nantong, China, to the requirements of classification society Bureau Veritas. It is able to dredge to a maximum depth of 27.6m and has a hopper capacity of 3,500 m3.

Designed with a shallow draught and high manoeuvrability, the TSHD is suitable for work in confined areas. The dredger will be used for dredging loose and soft soils such as sand, gravel, silt or clay. The dredged material can be deposited on the seabed through bottom doors or discharged through a floating pipeline to shore and used for land reclamation.

Including the four dredgers for Jan De Nul, Keppel is currently building six dredgers of various hopper capacities ranging from 3,500m3 to 10,500m3. This includes two dual-fuel dredgers capable of running on LNG.