Ceremony for ISANDLWANA

The naming and launch ceremony for the 4,200m3 trailing suction hopper dredger ISANDLWANA took place at the IHC Merwede shipyard Verenigde Scheepswerf Heusden (VSH) in Heusden, The Netherlands. The dredger is being built for Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), based in South Africa.

The ceremony was conducted by Mrs. Beatrice Nkayi, Executive Manager Ports & Corporate Affairs at TNPA.

The contract for the design, construction and delivery of the vessel was signed on 5 May 2008 between TNPA and IHC Dredgers B.V. The keel was laid on 16 September 2009. The construction of the ship will be completed at the IHC Merwede yard in Kinderdijk, TheNetherlands. After the commissioning and dredging trials in The Netherlands, the ISANDLWANA will sail to her home port in Durban, South Africa. The commissioning is expected to take place in October 2010.

The ISANDLWANA has been designed to perform maintenance dredging works in the ports of the Republic of South Africa. For this purpose a single suction pipe has been installed at starboard side, allowing for a dredging depth of 30m. The dredged material can be discharged directly into the sea through 10 conical bottom doors. The load can also be discharged through a self-emptying system, in which the dredged soil is pumped ashore through a floating pipeline, a fixed side connection or ‘rainbowed’, i.e. discharged through a spraying nozzle at the bow. Spacious accommodation with single and double cabins for the captain, the officers and the crew is provided. The deckhouse is fully air conditioned.