CONGO RIVER

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

WW2 mine dredged by Congo River safely detonated off Essex coast

Royal Navy bomb disposal experts World War Two detonated a German mine off the Essex coast. The 1,500lb device had been dredged up last Friday by the vessel Congo River about seven miles off Walton-on-the-Naze. A team from Southern Diving Unit 2 in Portsmouth were faced with an initial precarious task of detaching the parachute mine from the vessel before laying it safely on the sea bed. They then had to wait until yesterday (Tuesday) for a safe weather window to send a diver down to the device and attach explosives. Lieutenant Al Nekrews who led an eight-man team during the operation said the controlled explosion created a 300-ft plume. More with picture http://bfbs.com/news/uk/ww2-enemy-mine-detonated-essex-coast-49879.html

Mega trailing suction hopper dredger Congo River christened

On July 8th DEME in Belgium christened the mega trailing suction hopper dredger Congo River. A contract between DEME and IHC Dredgers for the design, construction and delivery of the ship was signed in December 2008. The laying of the keel took place on 15 December 2009. The ship was launched at the IHC Merwede shipyard in Kapelle aan den IJssel in the Netherlands on 21 January 2011, Dredging News Online reports. Congo River is 168 m in length and is an innovative and versatile vessel which, despite its size, is very manoeuvrable due to its large beam (38m) and relatively short length for such a large capacity. Because of its shallow draught, the ship can operate in limited water depthd even when fully loaded. Congo River can thus be efficiently deployed in ports and channels and for beach nourishment and land reclamation projects both large and small. With its deep-suction installation, the new ‘mega’ trailer can dredge at depths of more than 100m.

Naming ceremony scheduled for July,8

The DEME Group and its offshore specialist TIDEWAY announced press conference that will take place on the occasion of the naming of the new mega trailing suction hopper dredger “Congo River” (hopper capacity 30,000 m3). IHC Merwede built the impressive ship for the DEME Group and the CONGO RIVER is one of the largest ships in the fleet.