Although it was not possible to have DEME’s traditional naming festivities and family day given the coronavirus restrictions, DEME was honoured that Mrs Annik Penders, the wife of the Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo, accepted to be the godmother of the new vessel. The ceremony still managed to capture the spirit of the occasion with all the traditional rituals as Mrs Penders gracefully smashed a bottle of champagne against the hull.
Luc Vandenbulcke, CEO DEME Group: “’Spartacus’ was designed with three main priorities at its core: pushing the boundaries of dredging potential, unprecedented autonomy and minimising the impact on the environment. We are proud to be a technological and sustainable leader in the industry and ‘Spartacus’ embodies this drive and innovative spirit. DEME would like to very much thank Mrs Penders for being the godmother to this exceptional vessel and for joining us in celebrating this milestone.”
‘Spartacus’ will drive new levels of performance in the dredging industry given its unbeatable pumping power and heavy-duty cutter ladder, which means a dredging depth of 45 m can be reached. Projects that would not have been feasible before are now possible.
As well as its impressive power, ‘Spartacus’ is the first cutter suction dredger in the industry that can be powered by LNG. The vessel also has several additional energy saving features, such as a waste heat recovery system.
‘Spartacus’ incorporates other smart innovations to maximise productivity, including an on board workshop with a vibration-insulated floor, which makes it possible to carry out the maintenance and repair of the cutterheads during operations. This enables the mega cutter suction dredger to achieve unequalled uptime and is a major advantage when working in remote parts of the world.
