Keppel Offshore & Marine, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel FELS, has delivered the second of three dual-fuel dredgers to Dutch maritime company, Van Oord.
Named Vox Apolonia, the energy efficient dredger is equipped with green features and has the ability to run on LNG. It is identical to the first dredger, Vox Ariane, delivered earlier in the year by Keppel O&M. A third dredger, Vox Alexia, is on track for delivery in 2023.
Tan Leong Peng, MD New Energy/Business, Keppel O&M, said, “We are pleased to deliver our second dual-fuel dredger to Van Oord, extending our track record in delivering new build high quality and sustainable vessels. LNG plays an important role in the clean energy transition. Through our ongoing partnership with Van Oord, we are pleased to support the industry’s transition to a more sustainable future by delivering efficient vessels with more environmentally friendly features.”
Built to the requirements of IMO Tier III, the Dutch flagged Vox Apolonia has a hopper capacity of 10,500m3 and includes several features that reduces fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Like the Vox Ariane, it is equipped with innovative and sustainable systems and has obtained the Green Passport and Clean Ship Notation by Bureau Veritas.
Maarten Sanders, Manager Newbuilding, Van Oord, said: “Van Oord is committed to lowering its impact on climate change by reducing its emissions and becoming net-zero. We can make most progress by investing in the decarbonisation of our vessels, since approximately 95% of Van Oord’s carbon footprint is linked to its fleet. The delivery of the Vox Apolonia is another important milestone in this process. In the designing the new LNG 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.”
Vox Apolonia is equipped with a high degree of automation for its marine and dredging systems, as well as an onboard data acquisition and integrated control system to enhance efficiency and operational cost savings. The TSHD has one suction pipe with a submerged e-driven dredge pump, two shore discharge dredge pumps, five bottom doors, a total installed power of 14,500 kW, and can accommodate 22 persons.
