World's largest hopper dredger no more  - order placed at shipyard
Boskalis to order new megahopper and WD FAIRWAY is declared a constructive total loss.


Following on from the recent report about the collision involving the hopper W.D. Fairway in China, Boskalis CEO Peter Berdowski announced that current information indicates that there is a constructive total loss.

Given this Boskalis say they have decided to build a new megahopper with a capacity of 40,000 m³.

The company has signed a Letter of Intent to that effect with the shipyard IHC Holland. The ship will be completed in the spring of 2011. This megahopper will strengthen the Boskalis market position in the segment of large-scale dredging projects.

A constructive total loss of the W.D. Fairway means that Boskalis will receive insurance payments amounting to a total of more than € 165 million. On balance, the financial settlement will lead to a positive result of approximately € 85 million before taxation.

On top of this Boskalis announced it has also signed a Letter of Intent with the shipyard IHC Holland for the construction of two large hoppers with a capacity of 12,000 m³. The ships will be completed in 2009 and 2011 respectively. These hoppers are part of the new building program announced previously, providing new capacity in response to increasing market demand.