Dutch-built dredger launched

The contract for the design, construction and delivery of the 121.5m long vessel was signed between DEME of Belgium and the Dutch company IHC Dredgers in June 2010, and the keel was laid in November 2010. The vessel is scheduled for delivery by November 2011.

The design is based on the trailing suction hopper dredgers Brabo and Breydel, delivered by IHC Merwede in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The limited draught, combined with large width, ensures that Breughel can be used in conditions where the designer says other ships of this class would be restricted. The vessel’s one-man operated bridge is equipped with a console which combines dredging and sailing functions.

The shipis named after Belgian painter Pieter Breughel, and the naming was performed by Mrs Bernadette Prignon, chair of the Liège Court of Appeal and spouse of Didier Reynders, the Belgium Federal Government’s deputy prime minister and minister of finance and institutional reforms.