(MUNICH, Germany) — Jan De Nul Group, the leading dredging specialist, is set to further expand its modern fleet with a self-propelled, cutter-suction dredger to be built at Croatian shipyard, Uljanik Brodogradiliste in Pula. The vessel, currently designated JDN8069, will feature one MAN 14V48/60CR and two MAN 9L48/60CR engines as well as three step-up, RENK Rheine gearboxes for a diesel-electric plant. RENK will also deliver the gearboxes for the cutter-head drive as well as for the dredger and booster pumps. Upon completion, the vessel will be the largest of its type in the world.
Lex Nijsen, vice president and head of four-stroke marine, MAN Diesel & Turbo, said: “Jan De Nul Group knows MAN very well and much of its fleet features our engines. This new vessel represents a significant development within the dredger segment in that, up to now, the largest installed power on similar vessels was approximately 27-28 MW, a figure the new vessel easily surpasses. I’m confident this order will help Jan De Nul Group maintain its strong presence in the dredger market.”
Popular dredging choice
The MAN L/V 48/60CR engine type is one of the most successful engine types used in dredging applications. Among the 56 such engines MAN Diesel & Turbo currently has on order for various marine applications, 14 alone are bound for installation aboard cutter- and hopper-dredger newbuildings for customers in Benelux and China. All engines will be built at MAN’s main facility in Augsburg, Germany.
The 48/60CR engines are equipped with key, in-house-developed technologies to optimize their economic and ecological performance, including high-efficiency, TCA-type, exhaust-gas turbochargers; advanced, electronic fuel-injection systems; and electronic hardware and software for engine control, monitoring and diagnosis in the form of MAN Diesel & Turbo’s proprietary SaCoSone system.
The new vessel will be able to boast of over 40,000 kW total diesel installed power, making it approximately 50 percent more powerful than the Luxembourg outfit’s own J.F.J. De Nul, currently the largest cutter-suction dredger in the world. JDN8069 is due for delivery at the beginning of 2017 and will operate globally.
