Baggerbedrijf de Boer-Dutch Dredging BV has awarded Royal IHC a contract for the design and construction of a custom-built trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) with a hopper capacity of 2300 m3. The new hopper meets the latest IMO Tier III – Euro Stage V environmental regulations.

The new dredger will be an upgrade of the Lesse, a TSHD that IHC delivered to Dutch Dredging in 2019.

Royal IHC has already built four custom-built vessels for Dutch Dredging. The Lesse, the most recently delivered dredger, proved to be a versatile TSHD and a perfect fit for Dutch Dredging’s international projects. The success of the Lesse, the growing need for fleet expansion and the ever more stringent emission requirements in project tenders have led Dutch Dredging to once again choose Royal IHC for the construction of an upgrade of the Lesse.

‘The Lesse is an ideal vessel for maintenance dredging,’ says Kees van de Graaf Jr., director of Dutch Dredging. ‘Thanks to its shallow draught in combination with state-of-the-art dredging technology, our professional crew can dredge optimally. This allows us to work reliably and be very competitive.’

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Based on operational experience

‘It is a textbook example of the best of both worlds coming together,’ adds Derk te Bokkel, CEO of Royal IHC. ‘Dutch Dredging’s operational experience with the Lesse and Royal IHC’s technical expertise formed the basis for design improvements and resulted in a successful upgrade of the Lesse.’

Picture: Dutch Dredging’s Kees van de Graaf Jr. (right) and Royal IHC’s Derk te Bokkel at the signing ceremony.

Also read: Dutch Dredging expands fleet with ninth trailing suction hopper dredger