The dredger 'Leiv Eiriksson' was launched in Spain's Basque country in October 2009.
The vessel is a sister ship to the 'Cristóbal Colón' which was launched in July 2008. The vessels share common specifications, each featuring two MAN 16V48/60B medium-speed main engines and complete propulsion trains.
The two vessels were ordered by Dredging and Maritime Management, a subsidiary of the Luxembourg-based Jan de Nul Group.
Construction of the vessels took place at the La Naval shipyard in Sestao, Spain, part of Spanish shipbuilder Construcciones Navales del Norte.
The 'Leiv Eiriksson' and 'Cristóbal Colón' are said to be the largest trailing suction hopper dredgers in the world. With a hopper capacity of 46,000 cubic metres and 78,000 tonnes deadweight, the new mega-hopper suction dredgers are capable of sailing at speeds of up to 18 knots.
For both propulsion and working functions, the dredgers are powered by two MAN 16-cylinder, vee-configuration type 16V48/60B main engines, each rated 19,200kW at 514rpm.
These drive twin, controllable-pitch propellers via single input and output shaft-reduction gears, as well as two 18,500kW shaft generators located on power-take-offs on the reduction gears.
The shaft generators will cover electrical power for working functions during dredging, at berth or at anchor.
This also includes the hotel load for the 46 crew members and is supplied by a generator set based on an MAN Diesel inline nine-cylinder type 9L27/38 engine, rated 2,970kW at 720rpm.
The vessels have an overall length of 223 metres, a beam of 41 metres, a loaded draught of 15.15 metres, and are capable of dredging down to 142 metres using a 1,300mm suction pipe.
The MAN Diesel 48/60B engine type is prime-mover of choice in the dredging sector.
The type 48/60B diesel has a standard rating of 1,200kW per cylinder at 500 and 514
rpm, and is offered in 6-, 7-, 8-, and 9-cylinder inline and 12-, 14-, 16-, and 18-cylinder vee-configuration versions.
These MAN Diesel medium-speed engines are especially appreciated in these applications for their robust load-acceptance characteristics.
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