Dredging – 2003 built VOLVOX OLYMPIA

One of the famous IHC Dredging designed vessels is the 2003 built Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD)  – VOLVOX OLYMPIA for the 1868 founded Royal Van Oord, a Dutch maritime contracting company that specializes in dredging, land reclamation and constructing man made islands. She was built at Scheepswerf v/d Giessen de Noord as yard number […]

Wrecks – Chinese Ship suspected of looting WWII wrecks – May 2023

Malaysia’s maritime authorities on Monday 29th May, 2023 said cannon shells believed to be from World War Two have been found on the 2014 built Chinese dredger CHUAN HONG 68  detained at the weekend for anchoring in its territorial waters without permission. The discovery came amid reports that scavengers have targeted two British World War […]

Local Shipping – Dredger LEONE

The smallest dredger in the Maltese Islands is the Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) LEONE. CSD are designed to dredge rock, clay, silt, and sand and use where the ground is too hard for trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHD). Cutter Suction Dredgers dredge  mechanically by a rotating cutter head and suitable for land reclamation, deepening harbors […]

Towage – AGIOS DIMITRIOS towing SIRTE 2 – 19.05.2001

On Saturday 19th May, 2001 several units of the Libyan Dredging Company COMAFISH was seen arriving at Grand Harbour, Malta either as deck cargo or towed like the 1965 built cutter suction dredger SIRTE 2 that was seen being towed by the Greek Tug AGIOS DIMITRIOS. AGIOS DIMITRIOS was built in the Netherlands at YVC […]

Dredging – Second Call for GRANE R at Valletta – 02 – 04.09.2022

Infrastructure Malta has commenced dredging works to help improve safety and navigability inside Grand Harbour using the  the 2010 built DP 2 multi purpose offshore vessel GRANE R that entered Grand Harbour on Friday 2nd September at 0640 hrs. The project aims to remove tonnes of silt and other sediment from the seabed in the […]

Dredging – Haywharf Dredging – July/August 2022

During July and August 2022 Dredging Operations of Inert Material was carried out at the AFM Maritime Squadron Base at Haywharf at Marsamxett Harbour with the Ports & Yachting Directorate of Transport Malta issued Local Notice of Mariners – 091 dated 21st June, 2022 and Amendment – 118 dated 14th July 2022 . Vessels engaged […]

Dredging – GRANE R dredging inner part of Grand Harbour – August 2022

After nearly a month anchored at Bunkering Area 3, the 2010 built DP 2 multi purpose offshore vessel GRANE R entered Grand Harbour on Friday 12th August originally coming from Viana do Castelo at Portugal of which she passed breakwaters at 0839hrs. Transport Malta issued Local Notice to Mariners no 136 regarding the dredging works […]

Local Shipping – 1939 built tug SABU

One of the Dutch built vessels serving around the Maltese Islands was the 1939 built 21.67 metre single screw tug SABU. During the Golden Days all tugs were named by taking the first letters of the owner’s name, Salvatore (SA), and the first letter of his surname, Bezzina (B) and then adding a vowel infact […]

Dredging – Suction Dredger DIANNE K

One of the interesting vessels that was laid up in Malta was the converted 1954 built suction dredger DIANNE K. She was originally built as the coaster AURIGA at the GJ van de Werff’s Scheepsbw in Westerbroek with yard number 268 for the Dutch owner Jan Kuiper & Egbert Mooij based at Groningen, Netherlands homeported […]