Malaysian offshore support vessel operator Keyfield International has received Inai Kenanga, a trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD). The vessel has a hopper capacity of 32,205 cubic metres and is the company's first dredger and the largest vessel in its fleet.
Keyfield acquired the vessel for $24.7 million in cash from Inai Rimba, which entered receivership in March 2024.
The dredger will be owned and operated by a special purpose vehicle. Keyfield will eventually hold 60 per cent of it and Star Naval 1 will hold 40 per cent.
Star Naval 1 is co-owned by Singapore-based dredging and sand supply company Starhigh Asia Pacific and Naval Elite.
Star Naval 1 will fund the estimated $15 million reactivation, which is expected to be completed in 2027. The partners then intend to pursue projects involving land reclamation, maintenance of waterways and coastal development in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Singapore.
"This acquisition marks our foray into the dredging industry and accelerates our expansion beyond the oil-and-gas sector," said Group CEO Darren Kee Chit Huei.
Inai Kenanga follows the cable-laying barge Keyfield Blessing as the company's second non-oil and gas vessel. Keyfield said an independent valuer assessed the dredger's fair market value at $63.7 million.
Inai Kenanga was built by Selat Melaka in Malaysia and completed in 2016. Vuyk Engineering designed the vessel and its dredging system, which includes two trailing suction pipe systems. Under previous ownership, the dredger worked on dredging and reclamation at Malaysian federal ports.
