Cutting A Dash

摘要

Belgian contractor Jan De Nul is set to tackle a major dredging task for the Canadian offshore industry, calling for the creation of 'holes' at a considerable depth in the north-western Atlantic, and made possible by recent modifications to a titan of the dredging fleet, the Vasco da Gama. When she had entered service in June 2000, the post-Panamax trailer suction dredger Vasco da Gama had signified a 40% advance in capacity over the largest vessel at the time, by virtue of a hopper volume of 33 000m~3. Fitted with two dredge pumps, the Belgian ship could work to dredging depths up to 60m, and provision had been made to facilitate a subsequent extension to 131m, anticipating both demand and developments in submerged pump technology. The original design and build contract had been assigned to a German consortium made up of dredging technology specialist Krupp Fordertechnik and versatile shipbuilder Thyssen Nordseewerke (TNSW).