Hanson orders marine aggregates dredgers

The new dredgers will enter service in 2019 and will be equivalent in size to Hanson’a existing A-Class vessels, carrying up to 5500 t of sand and gravel. The new ships, which will be built by the Dutch shipbuilder Barkmeijer, will provide major improvements in fuel consumption, reliability and CO2 emissions.

Hanson UK chief executive Daniel Cooper said: “This significant investment is the first step in a strategic replacement programme for our existing fleet of eight dredgers which deliver marine aggregates into a network of wharves in both the UK and continental Europe. It is also a key part of our overall strategic plan. Marine dredged sand and gravel is critical to our UK business. It used in around half of our ready-mixed concrete plants and is becoming more and more important due to the increasing scarcity of land-won sand and gravel, particularly around London and south east England.”

Selecting the right partner for the project took months of work, with the Hanson project team visiting shipyards in the Netherlands, Eastern Europe and Chine before making their decision.

“We also had to be sure that our partner was capable of working to the highest quality standards and had a clear commitment to health and safety,” said Hanson procurement director Jas Suman. “Barkmeijer is a world leader in the shipbuilding industry and ticked all the boxes.”

The two-year build programme will be overseen by a dedicated project management team to ensure the design specification is followed and the timeline stays on track.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/07022017/hanson-orders-marine-aggregates-dredgers/