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Ghent-based Anglo Belgian Corporation NV (ABC), a specialist manufacturer of medium-speed four-stroke diesel engines, has confirmed that it has received an order from Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering (DEME) Group for two of its 16VDZD dual-fuel engines.

The engines are to power a new trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD), the Minerva [pictured], which is scheduled to be commissioned in late 2016. It is set to be the first dredging vessel to be equipped with dual-fuel engines, in addition to DEME's other trailing suction hopper dredger, the Scheldt River, which is expected to be put into service around the same time.

Both vessels are currently under construction at the Dutch shipyard Royal IHC.

ABC's 16VDZD engines run on marine diesel oil (MDO) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Each of the dual-fuel engines will develop 2400 kilowatts (kW) at 900 revolutions per minute (rpm) and meet IMO Tier 3 emissions standards without the use of after treatment systems such as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) or oxidation catalysts, the engine manufacturer says.

Earlier this year, in August, Finnish firm Wärtsilä announced that its dual-fuel engines are to be used to power the Scheldt River. The contract was signed in July.

The scope of supply includes one 12-cylinder and one 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 34DF engines, two Wärtsilä controllable pitch propellers and two transverse thrusters as well as the company's patented LNGPac gas supply and storage system.

The 104-metre-long Scheldt River will have a hopper volume capacity of approximately 8,000 cubic metres, whilst the Minerva will have a hopper volume of 3,000 cubic metres, expandable to 3,500 cubic metres.

In ABC's latest statement, Jean-Pierre Props, Area Sales Manager at ABC, said: "We have many years of expertise in the development and production of engines designed for ships that are to be used worldwide. However, it's the first time that we will supply dual fuel engines for the dredging industry."

Jan Gabriel, Head of New Building and Conversion at DEME, remarked: "The two 16VDZD engines fit perfectly into the concept of the trailing suction hopper dredger 'Minerva' in terms of power, size, and in particular that they are available in dual-fuel execution."