Hanson has decided to invest €70 million in two new 3,000 cubic meter capacity trailing suction hopper dredgers for its marine aggregate fleet.
The company announced that the newbuilds will be the first new aggregate dredgers to be commissioned by Hanson in the UK for more than 25 years.
Hanson UK chief executive Daniel Cooper said: “ This significant investment is the first step in a strategic replacement program for our existing fleet of eight dredgers which deliver marine aggregates into a network of wharves in both the UK and continental Europe. ”
“ It is also a key part of our overall strategic plan. Marine dredged sand and gravel is critical to our UK business. It used in around half of our ready-mixed concrete plants and is becoming more and more important due to the increasing scarcity of land-won sand and gravel, particularly around London and south east England ,” added Cooper.
The new TSHDs, which will enter service in 2019, will be equivalent in size to Hanson’s existing A-Class vessels, carrying up to 5,500 tonnes of sand and gravel.
According to Hanson, the new ships, which will provide major improvements in fuel consumption, reliability and CO2 emissions, will be built by the Dutch shipbuilder Barkmeijer at its yard at Stroobos in the Netherlands.
The two-year build program will be overseen by a dedicated project management team to ensure the design specification is followed and the timeline stays on track.