The CEMEX Go Innovation has been officially launched. The traditional ceremony took place at the Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania and was attended by representatives from both CEMEX and Damen.
Mark Darren Williams, Fleet Engineering Manager for CEMEX, commented at the ceremony: “For CEMEX UK Marine, its management and personnel, today is a milestone in our company history. This new ship represents a significant investment and the first new vessel both in the CEMEX fleet and that of the UK aggregate industry in over 20 years. Today we convert a lot of hard work, technical drawings, calculations, ideas, energetic discussions and exchange of point-of-views, into a physical floating object, by the highly skilled women and men of Galati and Mangalia.”
The CEMEX Go Innovation is the first of Damen’s new Marine Aggregate Dredger class, a 103.5 metre MAD 3500. The vessel is the result of close cooperation between CEMEX and Damen and represents the first of a new generation of efficient and economical dredgers specialising in the extraction of sand and gravel from the seabed. It is designed to extract aggregates from the sea bed up to depths of 55 metres, including in the challenging conditions experienced in the North Sea.
The CEMEX Go Innovation has been developed to offer major environmental savings while ensuring safety, high performance and sustainability. The result is a dredger which will have a 25% increased capacity, nearly double the dredging depth and discharge rate increase of 20%.
Following its launch, the CEMEX Go Innovation will complete its fitting out with commissioning due to begin at the end of the year, and delivery expected in the early spring of 2020. Laurence Dagley, Managing Director, CEMEX Materials UK Southern, commented: “It was very exciting to see our state-of-the-art dredger, CEMEX Go Innovation, and participate in the traditional launch ceremony with Damen. This is a ground-breaking ship that leads the industry thanks to the major environmental savings that it offers, its increased capacity and dredging depth, and its safety-enhancing external pipework. We look forward to the CEMEX Go Innovation arriving in the UK and beginning its work early next year.”
Kurt Cowdery, Director of CEMEX Marine, added: “CEMEX Go Innovation is a state-of-the-art vessel that will allow us to further enhance our Marine profile and capability in both the UK and Europe. We continue to stay ahead of our competitors and are maximising the opportunities available to us. We would like to thank all that have been involved with this project, in particular the Marine team. This is an excellent investment in our people, business and future!”
“The cooperation between Damen and CEMEX UK Marine has been really excellent,” said Damen’s Joppe Neijens, Sales Manager dredging for North, West and South Europe. “It has been a very smooth process and we have built the vessel together, using the original Damen MAD concept as the basis for a vessel optimised to meet the needs of CEMEX. They challenged us to meet their requirements and as a joint team we made it happen. This new dredger will differentiate itself from the current fleet and set a new standard in the industry. As such, the CEMEX Go Innovation represents the start of a new era. I can’t wait to see the vessel sailing.”