Cutter suction dredger Zheng He launched

摘要

During January this year, Jan De Nul's cutter suction dredger Zheng He was launched in Croatia's Uljanik Brodogradiliste Shipyard, Pula. The Zheng He is a sister vessel of the Ibn Battuta, launched in August 2009, and is the second in row of four large self-propelled cutter suction dredgers with a total installed diesel power of 23,520 kW built by this shipyard. The other two of this class of cutter suction dredgers are the Fernao de Magalhaes and the JDN8067. All four are part of the Jan De Nul Group's ambitious investment programme 2007-2011 worth €1.8b. That same day, the keel laying of the sister vessel Fernao de Magalhaes was celebrated. The keel laying marks the beginning of the construction of the vessel. The keel is the bottom of the vessel and is generally the first part of a ship's hull to be constructed.