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This summer, Holland?s IHC Merwede has delivered a number of specialized ships. Belgium?s DEME Group, one of the world?s leading dredge contractors, has been the main customer. The new ?mega? trailer becomes the new flagship of the DEME fleet. The 168-meter-long ship was designed to be one of the high- est performing and most economicaldredgers on today?s market. With the launch of this ?mega? trailing suction hopper dredger, DEME confirms its con- viction that the dredging market also holds great prospects in the comingyears. IHC also launched the dredgerBreughel for DEME. The contract for the design, construction and delivery of the vessel was signed between DEME and IHC Dredgers in June 2010, and the keel was laid on November 15, 2010. The ves- sel will be delivered by November 2011. The design of the Breughel is based onthe successful trailing suction hopperdredgers Brabo and Breydel, delivered by IHC Merwede in 2007 and 2008, respec-tively. The limited draught, combined with large width, was designed to allow the Breughel to operate in conditionswhere other ships of its class would be re- stricted. The vessel's one-man operated bridge is equipped with a console thatcombines both dredging and sailing func-tions. W3G Marine (W3GM) and IHCMerwede have agreed to collaborate on the development of W3GM's patented design for an offshore wind turbine installation ship (OWTIS) . TheOWTIS concept has major advantages over existing assets, not least in its ability to improve offshore safety by necessitat- ing fewer tasks to be performed offshore. It is environmentally friendly ? as it has no contact with the seabed ? and able tooperate in harsh weather and deploy large loads. The OWTIS concept is not limited by water depth and is readily transferable to the oil and gas heavy-lift market. The purpose-designed OWTIS will be equipped with a 1,500-ton crane, whichwhen used in conjunction with thepatented lift system will enable fully as-sembled wind turbines to be installed inone lift onto pre-installed foundations.This new vessel was designed to reduce the cost of installing offshore wind tur- bines (and foundations) by at least one-third compared to current methods. IHC Merwede has over 3,000 employ- ees based at various locations in The Netherlands, China, Croatia, France,India, the Middle East, Nigeria, Serbia,Singapore, Slovakia, the UK and the USA. Technological innovation will re- main the company?s underlying strength through its continuous investment in re- search and development. Moreover, it helps to safeguard a sustainable environ- ment.Shipbuilding Business 2011 & Beyond As shipbuilders face tight finance and lean times, Maritime Reporter explores the businesses of some of the more progressive and aggressive companies that continue to innovate to maintain and gain market share. At a glanceIHC Merwede B.V. Molendijk 94, 3361 EP Sliedrecht P.O. Box 204 - 3360 AE Sliedrecht, The Netherlands T + 31 (0)184 41 15 55; F + 31 (0)184 41 18 84www.ihcmerwede.com (pictured is launching of Breughel) August 2011www.marinelink.com 29MR Aug. 11 # 4 (25-33):MR Template 8/5/2011 11:17 AM Page 29