A new vessel – the largest to date – arrived in Guyana this week to undertake dredging activities for a landmark port facility being set up to service the growing oil production operations offshore the South American country.
NRG Holdings Inc. on Tuesday welcomed the arrival of the massive MV Galileo Galilei dredge vessel in the Demerara River.
The company said the vessel, owned and operated by the Belgian Jan De Nul has been deployed to the project site to continue dredging activities for the Vreed-en-Hoop shore base.
“The vessel’s arrival marks the beginning of the sandkey reclamation phase of the project. During this phase, the dredger will clear the existing area and begin the process of adding reclaimed material for the creation of an artificial island on which the construction of the new terminal will be situated,” NRG said in its release.
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In the first phase, it will add more than “44 acres to Guyana’s coastline,” NRG pointed out.
A special feature of the MV Galileo Galilei is that it has two separated hoppers on board. This allows the dredged material to be spread evenly over both hoppers, thus optimally controlling the load and the draught.
Dredging activities commenced in June and the MV Galileo Galilei is among the eight vessels cleared for the project.
Other vessels include two trailing suction hopper dredgers named Pinta, De Bougainville; one cutter dredge named Zheng He; two multicats named DN 205 and Telesto; and three tugs named Yogi, DN87 and DN68. The Zheng He was the first vessel to arrive in Guyana for the project.
Vreed-en-Hoop Shore Base Inc. (VEHSI) forms part of the Port of Vreed-en-Hoop and is meant to be the special purpose vehicle to serve ExxonMobil’s Yellowtail project.
