Business and Finance

Mega Cutter Suction Dredge Helios Joins Boskalis Fleet

July 26, 2017 By International Dredging Review
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Boskalis christened its new cutter suction dredge Helios at a ceremony in the Port of Rotterdam the Netherlands.

On July 1 Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) announced that its mega cutter Helios was named and christened during a ceremony in the Port of Rotterdam the Netherlands. The Helios is the largest and most powerful cutter suction dredge Boskalis has ever developed. The outfitted hull was built by Royal IHC at the Uljanik shipyard in Pula Croatia and arrived in Kinderdijk the Netherlands in August 2016 for further completion. At the end of May 2017 the Helios returned from successful sea trials. 

The self-propelled Helios is 152 meters long 28 meters wide and is able to dredge at depths of 6 to 35 meters. With a total installed power of 23700 kW a pump ashore capacity of 15600 kW and a maximum cutter power of 7000 kW the Helios is one of the most powerful cutter suction dredgers in the dredging industry. The vessel was developed to dredge in extremely hard ground. The cutter ladder is 47 meters long and weighs 2060 tons making it the heaviest in the world.

The Helios is a heavy duty rock cutting self-propelled dredge able to work within 15 miles of shore or within 20 miles from port. She is fully equipped for dredging trenches navigation channels and harbors and has a fully automated dredging process that is centrally controlled. The Helios can accommodate a crew of 45 making it able to operate all over around the world even in the remote locations. 

Its first deployment will be for dredging activities related to the development of the Port of Duqm in Oman. In January 2017 Boskalis received a Letter of Intent to Award a contract for the development of the port of Duqm in Oman. The contract with a value of approximately 480 million euros ($547 million) will be awarded by Sezad (Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm) subject to Sezad satisfying certain conditions. 

The satisfactory cooperation between client and shipbuilder was clearly demonstrated when Boskalis ordered a sister vessel of the Helios from Royal IHC which is expected to be commissioned in the course of 2020.