Dutch-based dredging company Van Oord has launched its first LNG-powered crane vessel, ‘Werkendam’, in the Waalhaven in Rotterdam, marking “the start of a new generation of dredging vessels”, according to the company.
“Energy efficiency is one of the top items on our sustainability agenda. To reduce our carbon footprint, we are researching the use of alternative fuels, such as LNG and biofuel. With this investment, we will be gaining experience of LNG-powered vessels and the related benefits,” explained Jaap de Jong, Staff Director of the Ship Management Department at Van Oord.
Delivery and christening are scheduled for April 2018. The vessel will generally be deployed to Netherlands-based projects executed by subsidiary Paans Van Oord.
Some of this subsidiary’s other crane vessels are currently deployed at the Houtrib dike, where a Van Oord consortium is reinforcing both sides of a 25-kilometre-long section of the dike with sand and rock. The Houtrib dike, which links Enkhuizen and Lelystad, protects large parts of the Netherlands from flooding.
