Jan De Nul Group pockets the DPC Innovation Awards for 'Best Dredger Design' for the Hopper vessels with exhaust gas treatment systems.
Jan De Nul Group ordered four Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHD) equipped with exhaust gas treatment systems in order to reduce harmful emissions to a level lower than any other vessel, including those using LNG as a fuel. Common practise in road freight, but unprecedented within the dredging industry.
The deliberate choice was made not to opt for LNG. It is a fact that methane, as a greenhouse gas, has a lot more impact on global warming than the CO2 emitted when burning diesel fuel. Furthermore, by the use of easily available fuels, unlike the limited availability of LNG, lower emission can be guaranteed, worldwide and continuously. Thanks to this innovative technique, the hoppers will correspond with the future European requirements for inland waterway vessels: a standard much more stringent than the applicable requirement.