Scheldt River Becomes First LNG Vessel Bunkered in Germany

DEME’s pioneering dual fuel Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge Scheldt River became the first hopper dredge and first LNG vessel bunkered with Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) in Germany. The dredge was loaded with about 85 tons of fuel at the Brunsbüttel Ports on February 12.

Nauticor GmbH & Co. KG of Hamburg, a member of the Linde Group, delivered the fuel in five trucks, two of which were unloaded simultaneously. Future improvements in this type of bunkering will include ship-to-ship transfer of LNG.

Scheldt River was built at the Royal IHC shipyard in the Netherlands to help meet DEME’s multi-year fleet investment program focused on increasing productivity and environmental performance. Environmentally friendly hopper dredges like the Scheldt River are suitable for dredging and deepening works in emission-controlled areas. In the next two years the dredging fleet will be further reinforced with the TSHD Bonny River (2018) and the cutter suction dredge Spartacus (2019).