Austrian energy company Verbund places new amphibious dredger into service

Austrian energy company and hydropower producer Verbund has placed a new amphibious multi-purpose dredger into service.

The vessel was built by Finland-based Aquamec. It belongs to a series of amphibious dredgers, examples of which have been delivered to operators in Australia, the Philippines, China, Argentina, and Ukraine.

The dredger will be used for waterway and hydropower infrastructure maintenance work.

The new dredger has a length of 11 metres (without boom), a beam of 3.3 metres, a height of 3.15 metres, and a displacement of 19.5 tonnes.

Dredging can be done anywhere from dry ground to a depth of six metres while two front stabilisers and two rear tilting stabilisers keep the vessel firmly in place.

The hull is made from a single piece and has seven watertight compartments, protective skid bars on the bottom, and corrosion-resistant paint. This ensures the dredger's durability as it takes on an array of projects, including those that could not be performed by vessels of greater size and draught.