RH Marine keeps LNG dredger in position
RH Marine’s Rhodium Alarm Monitoring System (AMS) and Dynamic Position and Tracking control system (DPT) are on board the Ecodelta, a sustainable trailing suction hopper owned by dredging company, Van der Kamp.
“Van der Kamp is an old client for whose ships we have often supplied such systems. For the company it is especially important that our systems are open systems that can easily be integrated with their own systems on board,” said RH Marine account manager, Bart Lamme.
The 134m Ecodelta can dredge up to 37m deep and will keep the ports of Rotterdam and Eemshaven at the right depth. Equipped with five LNG and four dual-fuel engines, it has a capacity of 5500m³.
RH Marine’s AMS monitors all onboard operating systems via sensors, from propulsion to dredging. The data can be viewed on the bridge or in the engine control room. Van der Kamp also opted for RH Marine’s DPT system which was initially developed for the dredging sector.
“In the past dredging was done by using an ordinary autopilot, keeping the speed constant by manual control,” explained RH Marine’s consultant, Ehab El Amam. “In the future there may be orders for precision dredging or dumping. The ship must then be able to keep its position more precisely,” he added.
The Ecodelta’s position in the water varies depending on its load. To cater for this the DPT is an adaptive system that automatically adjusts control behaviour to the depth of the ship.
