Finnish engine maker Wärtsilä has secured a contract to supply a package of engines and propulsion machinery for a new cutter suction dredger, being built for Belgium’s DEME.
The LNG-powered dredger named Spartacus will be the world’s most powerful CSD and the first ever to be fuelled by liquefied natural gas, according to IHC, that is building the vessel at its yard in the Netherlands.
The order with Wärtsilä, worth around 20 million euros ($21.2m), was booked in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The 164 metre long vessel will have a total installed power of 44,180 kW. It will feature four 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 46DF dual-fuel engines, two 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 20DF dual-fuel engines, and a Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel gas storage and supply system, the Finnish company said in a statement.
The Wärtsilä equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yard during the fourth quarter of 2017.
The Spartacus is expected to be delivered to DEME in mid-2019.
Besides Spartacus, IHC has been previously contracted by DEME to build LNG-powered trailing suction hopper dredgers, Minerva and Scheldt River, and LNG-ready Bonny River.
There are currently no LNG-powered dredgers in operation around the globe.