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Van Oord, an international contractor specializing in dredging, marine engineering and offshore projects, will use the option of ordering a third trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) at Keppel FELS Limited.

The vessel is similar to the two vessels that Van Oord ordered in May 2018. Each one has a hopper capacity of approximately 10,500 cubic meters and measures 138 meters in length and 28 meters across the beam, said Van Oord in its latest release.

According to the announcement, “the new hoppers will replace existing vessels and fit in with Van Oord’s aim of making its fleet state-of-the-art and more energy efficient. For example, the climate control system on board will utilize the vessel’s existing cooling and heating sources to recycle energy as efficiently as possible. Another innovative factor is the extensive degree of automation. The automated systems will be more advanced than even before, and integrated vessel data is easily being processed by a shore support center.”

Commenting the latest news, Stefan Hansum, Van Oord’s Plant Design & Construction Manager, said: “In designing the hoppers, we focused on reducing our carbon footprint and working more efficiently by reusing energy and making optimal use of the automated systems in combination with electrical drives.”

The vessels will each be equipped with a suction pipe with submerged e-driven dredge pump, two shore discharge dredge pumps, five bottom doors, and a total installed power of 14,500 kW. The TSHDs will have accommodation for 22 persons.

The first two vessels, Vox Ariane and Vox Apolonia, will be delivered in 2021 and the third vessel is set for delivery in 2022.

According to the company, the new vessels will be Dutch flagged.

Singapore-based rig builder Keppel has inked contracts worth £77m million for a newbuild dredger and the modification of a floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).

The first contract is between Keppel FELS and Van Oord to build a high-specification Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD).

Expected to be completed in 1Q 2022, the TSHD will have a hopper capacity of 10,500m3.

The dredger will be built to the requirements of classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) and will be LNG ready.

The second contract is between Keppel Shipyard and Yinson for the fast-track modification and upgrading of FPSO Allan.

Keppel Shipyard’s scope of work includes refurbishment and life extension works, fabrication and installation of a new riser balcony, spread mooring system and helideck, as well as modification of the vessel’s topsides and marine systems.

The project for Yinson is scheduled to commence in 3Q 2019 with delivery expected in 1Q 2020.

Upon completion, the FPSO will have a storage capacity of 700,000 barrels of oil and a processing capacity of 60,000 barrels of oil per day.

It will be deployed in the Anyala and Madu fields, offshore Nigeria for First Exploration and Petroleum Development Co Ltd.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), has secured a contract from Van Oord for a newbuild dredger.

The contract to build an LNG-ready Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) follows from an option granted to Van Oord based on earlier contracts entered in May 2018 for two similar dredgers.

Expected to be completed in Q1 2022, the TSHD will have a hopper capacity of 10,500 cbm. The dredger will be built to the requirements of classification society Bureau Veritas (BV).

The TSHD is equipped with a climate control system which utilises the vessel's existing cooling and heating sources to recycle energy, as well as automation systems which send production data to the shore support centre for processing. The dredger will also be certified with the BV Green Passport and Clean Ship notations.

To date, Keppel has delivered three dredgers, including the world's first European Union (EU) Stage V dredger. Including the exercise of this option, Keppel currently has five dredgers on order with hopper capacities ranging from 6,000 cbm to 10,500 cbm.

In addition to the LNG-ready TSHD contract with Van Oord, Keppel O&M has been awarded a contract by Yinson Nepeta Production Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yinson Production Pte Ltd (Yinson), for the fast-track modification and upgrading of FPSO Allan.

The combined value of the contracts is approximately S$130 million.