Croatia launches cutter suction dredger

The Zheng He is a sister vessel of the Ibn Battuta, launched in August 2009, and is the second in a series of four large self-propelled cutter suction dredgers built by the Croatian yard. The other two of this class are the Fernão de Magalhães and JDN8067 scheduled for delivery in, respectively, late 2010 and 2011.

The 23,520 kW diesel electric plant comprises three MAN 6 L48/60 medium speed gensets powering two Wärtsilä fixed pitch steerable thrusters each driven by a 3,500 kW Indar electric motor for a service speed of 13 knots.

All four of the 138.5m long, 26m wide newbuildings are part of the Jan De Nul group‘s ambitious investment program for 2007-2011 worth €1.8 billion. The delivery of the Zheng He is slated for the second half of 2010.

To be able to meet the growing demand, Jan De Nul continues to invest in the expansion of its fleet. The group‘s own design and engineering division designs new vessels in-house and the company delivers the required specific dredging equipment to the shipyard, claimed to be a unique feature in the dredging industry. The equipment is designed and engineered within the company and fabricated and assembled in the company‘s workshops in Aalst, Belgium.