New Cummins Powered Dredge

A cutter dredge built in the Netherlands by the IHC Merwede Group, departed her homeport for the long transport to Malaysia where she now works. In Malaysia the dredge, Inai Delima, joined the extensive fleet of Inai Kiara Sdn Bhd.

The custom-built 4,697 kW (6,299 hp) stationary, cutter dredger is fitted with two Cummins QSK60-M dredging pump engines. It also has a single Cummins KTA50 (D)M engine for hydraulics while electrical needs are met by generators powered by a Cummins 6CTA and a larger genset powered by a Cummins QSM11.

Cutter dredgers are used when the bottom material is too compacted for removal by suction action alone. The cutter is a revolving head that cuts and loosens the bottom material so that the dredgers pump can draw it to the surface for deposit ashore by pipeline. The cutter head is mounted on the lower end of a ladder that also supports that piping that carries the dredgate up to the dredger and the delivery line.

The dredger can move itself from side to side and forward by means of the spuds and anchored moorings attached to the lower end of the ladder. This allows it to excavate a wide swath of bottom. Modern instrumentation allows profiles and side slopes to shaped accurately