Royal IHC has delivered a new electric cutter suction dredger (CSD) to German operator Quarzwerke for use as its silica sand operation at Biała Góra in Poland.
Tomaszów was launched at the mine site in the middle of July 2026. That same month, Quarzwerke announced that the dredger was already in operation.
It works for group company TKSM Biała Góra at Smardzewice, near Tomaszów Mazowiecki. The operation supplies quartz sands for glassmaking, ceramics, foundries and construction chemicals.
The dredger was built at Royal IHC's yard in Krimpen aan den IJssel in the Netherlands and first launched on January 13. It was named at Kinderdijk in March.
Royal IHC said Quarzwerke's new electric mining dredger is a tailored solution built on the company's proven 58-metre (190-foot) CSD platform.
The dredger has an LOA of approximately 58 metres with the ladder raised. Its pontoons are 43.5 metres (143 feet) long, and it has a beam of 12.44 metres (40.81 feet), a depth of 2.97 metres (9.74 feet), and an average draught of only 1.9 metres (6.2 feet).
The cutterhead of Tomaszów is engineered to excavate cemented silica sand at depths of up to 25 metres (82 feet). Two Royal IHC Cutterspecial pumps are installed in series, which the builder said reduces wear and improves operational efficiency.
The diesel pontoon on the standard Royal IHC 58-metre CSD has been replaced by an electrical pontoon. This component carries a shore cable connection box, a transformer, a switchboard and a frequency drive, while the conventional dredging and hydraulic installation is retained. The CSD draws a 3,750kVA supply at between six and 15 kV.
The demountable hull was shipped to Gdańsk and then moved approximately 500 kilometres (310 miles) by road in 16 special transports.
Biała Góra extracts sand beneath the water surface without lowering the water table. The dredger cuts the material and pumps it through a pipeline to stockpiles outside the flooded excavation. Royal IHC said the vessel would allow production to continue for a minimum of 30 years without increasing the operation's footprint.
TKSM Biała Góra president Maciej Kortus told Tomaszowski Informator Tygodniowy that Tomaszów was assembled in the BG I excavation. An older dredger continues working in BG II, where extraction is nearing completion and rehabilitation has begun.
| Tomaszów | |
|---|---|
| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Type of vessel: | Cutter suction dredger |
| Owner: | Quarzwerke, Germany |
| Designer: | Royal IHC, Netherlands |
| Builder: | Royal IHC, Netherlands |
| Length overall: | 58 metres (190 feet) |
| Beam: | 12.44 metres (40.81 feet) |
| Draught: | 1.9 metres (6.2 feet) |
| Depth: | 2.97 metres (9.74 feet) |
| Dredging equipment: | Royal IHC cutterhead; Royal IHC Cutterspecial pumps |
| Operational area: | Biała Góra, Poland |