A US East Coast operator has acquired a replacement dredger while an Indian customer has selected a Dutch firm for a new suction hopper vessel. Construction meanwhile continues on dredgers in Russia, China, and the Netherlands.
Royal IHC is set to build an 8,000 cubic metre trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) for India's Vishwa Samudra Group. The vessel will be constructed at Royal IHC's shipyard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands, with delivery scheduled for the summer of 2027.
This new dredger will be the latest addition to the dredging fleet of Vishwa Samudra, which had previously acquired two cutter suction dredgers from IHC.
Ellicott Dredges of Maryland recently delivered a new cutter suction dredger to the City of Virginia Beach.
Sandpiper will replace the city's ageing Ellicott dredger, Rudee Inlet II, which has been in operation since 1983.
Ellicott said Sandpiper combines the robust, trusted design of the original Rudee Inlet II with advanced modern features including upgraded hydraulics, operator controls, and the latest EPA-compliant engines.
Netherlands-based shipbuilder Royal IHC has floated out a new trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) ordered by local marine projects company Boskalis.
Upon completion, Seaway will have a hopper capacity of 31,000 cubic metres, making her one of the largest TSHDs in operation. Boskalis said she is scheduled to enter service by the summer of 2026.
Chinese shipbuilder Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) recently held a keel-laying ceremony for a new 25,000-cubic-metre trailing suction hopper dredger at its offshore engineering facility, officially launching the vessel into its full assembly phase.
The ship is described as China's first self-propelled trailing suction hopper dredger to feature a distributed in-hold dredge pump system.
Russian shipbuilder the R-Flot Group of Companies has begun construction of two new dredgers in a series for local shipowner State Transport Leasing Company (STLC).
The multi-functional suction dredgers will belong to the Project 2040 series, the first example of which was delivered to STLC in September 2024. Delivery of these newer vessels is scheduled for 2027.