Successful transportation of VOX DUBAI section

 

On 3 July 2008, the two main engines of the VOX DUBAI, together with block 1200.1 and the engine and pump room, were moved from a floating pontoon into the IHC Dredgers shipbuilding hall in Kinderdijk.

The 31,200 m³ trailing suction hopper dredger VOX DUBAI is the largest ship of its kind ever to be built in the Netherlands. It will be 200 m long, with a beam of 31 m and a moulded depth of 17.5 m, putting it into the jumbo hopper dredger category (hopper capacity of 17,000 - 24,000 m³) that includes only 12 vessels worldwide. The ship has a dredging depth of 70 metres and it is being built for Van Oord. It will be launched in the spring of 2009.

The keel was laid on Friday, 30 May 2008 at the IHC Merwede yard in Kinderdijk. After preparations lasting more than a year, that was the start of actual building work on the vessel. During that time, the technical details of the project were worked out, and the first sections were built at VSH in Heusden, which is a subsidiary of IHC Merwede. The VOX DUBAI consists of more than 200 sections. The three midship which are intermediating the deck sections together are, for example, 100 metres long and 31 metres wide, with a depth of 9.6 metres. That is larger than a 2,500 m³ hopper dredger! The main engines each measure 10 x 5 x 5 metres and generate a combined power of about 28 megawatts, enough to provide 44,000 people with electricity. That's as many people as live in a small town.

High resolution photographs Right click link below and select "Save target as...": - Photo 1 - Photo 2

IHC Merwede Profile
IHC Merwede is focused on the continuous development of its design and construction activities for the specialised shipbuilding sector, in particular the dredging and offshore industries. IHC Merwede is world market leader in the construction of specialist dredging equipment and complex custom-built offshore vessels. The clients of IHC Merwede include major dredging companies, oil and gas exploration groups, offshore contractors and government authorities.
IHC Merwede has a staff of approximately 2,200 at its locations in the Netherlands. There are also branches in the UK, China, Houston (USA), India, the Middle East, Russia and Singapore.


Additional information

Increases in scale
In 1990, the largest trailing suction hopper dredger had a hopper capacity of 12,000 m³; up-scaling has now passed through a number of stages, resulting in 'jumbo' trailing suction hopper dredgers with capacities of 17,000 - 24,000 m³. Twelve of these ships are now in operation around the globe. This is not the end of the up-scaling process, despite the limitations associated with the large dimensions and draught. Up-scaling is leading to both the construction of even larger vessels ('mega-vessels') and the extension of existing ships.

The table below illustrates the process. The VOLVOX TERRANOVA is the largest dredging vessel ever built (in 1997) by IHC Dredgers in Kinderdijk. The assignment for both ships came from Van Oord nv.

Scale factor  

		CO1214 - TERRANOVA		CO1252 – VOX DUBAI
OVERALL LENGTH		162.0 m		198.0 m
BEAM		29.0 m		31.0 m
DEPTH		(18.3 m) 12.8 m		17.5 m
HOPPER CAPACITY		20,000 m³		31,200 m³
TURNAROUND TIME		20 months		Planned ± 35 months
COMPLETION PERIOD		6 months		7 months
SCALE FACTOR		1		1.6 – 2.0

Technical specifications

Overall length	:	203 metres
Beam	:	31 metres
Depth	:	17.50 metres
Dredging draught	:	14.50 metres
Dredging depth	:	70 metres
Hopper capacity	:	31,200 m³
Total installed power	:	31,165 kW
Crew	:	46 people

Note for the editing desk/not for publication
For more information, please contact:

IHC Merwede B.V.
Mrs. R. van Krimpen-Baudesson
T +31 (0)184 41 15 55
pr@spam-preventionihcmerwede.com


 

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