C. u. W. Keller GmbH & Co. KG (Keller) has secured an order for the design and manufacture of several gearboxes for the world’s most powerful cutter suction dredger.
The gearboxes were designed in close cooperation with DEME who will operate the cutter under the name SPARTACUS.
According to the company, the collected cutter know-how and experience of both companies during the project phase lead to an optimized design, which will be a new benchmark for future cutter gearboxes.
Beside the cutter gearbox, the supply also includes two off propeller gearboxes, three off dredge pump gearboxes and two off side winch gearboxes.
The cutter gearbox is the largest gearbox in the dredging industry and one of the largest case hardened and ground gearboxes worldwide.
The 44,180kW self-propelled CSD SPARTACUS, to be built by Royal IHC, will be the world’s first LNG-powered Cutter Suction Dredger. The vessel’s four main diesel engines will be able to run on LNG, MDO and HFO, and the two auxiliary engines will have dual-fuel technology.
Delivery of the newbuild is scheduled for the summer of 2019.