Schottel propels new TSHD for DEME

Recently handed over to the Belgian dredging company DEME, the Bonny River is driven by Schottel’s controllable pitch propellers and transverse thrusters. With a 15,000 cbm capacity, the vessel is capable of dredging hard soil and able to work in water depths of more than 100m.

Jan Gabriel, head of the technical construction and conversion department at the DEME Group, said, “The design of the Bonny River is inspired by a drive to continuously innovate from an ecological and efficiency perspective. As such, DEME continues to be at the forefront of the industry and significantly reduces the environmental impact of its operations. Schottel’s propulsion solutions fit in this strategy.”

The TSHD is driven by two Schottel controllable pitch propellers type SCP 129 4-XG with an input power of 8,000kW each and a propeller diameter of 4.5m and can reach a speed of 16 knots. Beyond this, maximum manoeuvrability and propulsion efficiency are provided by tunnel thrusters – two STT 3 FP (750kW each) and one STT 5 FP (1,500kW) – which can be demounted from above.

Schottel was joined by control partner Noris and IHC systems to develop a complete power management system with controls the mechanically driven dredging pump, PTOs and propellers without overloading the dual-fuel engines.

The Bonny River is part of DEME’s multi-year fleet investment programme and is currently being mobilised in Flushing (Vlissingen), Netherlands, for its first assignments.