Van Oord has held the naming ceremonies for two hybrid water injection vessels at its head office jetty in Rotterdam. The Maas and Mersey are versatile and have water injection dredging, mass flowing and power jetting systems. The vessels are also equipped with batteries.

The ceremony took place on 30 June. Ms Karin Schinagl, wife of Managing Director Netherlands Ronald Schinagl, named the vessel Maas. Ms Karien van Oord performed the naming ceremony for the Mersey. Until 2020, she was the chair of the Van Oord Family Council and a member of the MerweOord Board of Directors.

The Maas and Mersey represent the new generation of hybrid water injection vessels. Water injection dredging is an efficient and environmentally friendly way of maintaining the depth of navigation channels, ports, marinas and rivers. Van Oord has been using this technique all around the world for over thirty years.

Pre-programmed dredging

The latest technological developments have been applied to both vessels, such as active heave compensation and dynamic positioning, which means that the dredging can be pre-programmed to a great extent and performed more efficiently. Thanks to the manoeuvrability and very limited draught, the vessels are perfectly suitable for maintenance dredging in shallow harbours At the same time, they can dredge up to 24 metres water depth and are certified as unrestricted seagoing vessels.

Also read: Port of Rotterdam trials water injection dredging

The energy management of both vessels was given special attention. Both vessels are equipped with a hybrid energy management system. Consequently, the vessels can store energy in batteries from residual heat that is normally lost. This energy is subsequently used for purposes including propulsion. Diesel-electric engines will reduce CO2 emissions.

The new water injection vessels will comply with the new IMO TIER III legislation for reducing NOx emissions and take account of EU STAGE V legislation. The vessels were delivered by Kooiman Marine Group in Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands.

The two vessels were ordered in 2019 and are part of Van Oord’s fleet investment programme. Maas and Mersey will replace the first generation of water injection dredgers, which were put into service around 1990.

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