On Wednesday May 26, 2010, the cutter suction dredger ‘Ibn Battuta’ was delivered to its owner, on the shipyard Uljanik Brodogradiliste d.d. in Pula (Croatia). The ‘Ibn Battuta’ is the first of four large self-propelled cutter suction dredgers built at the Pula shipyard.

Earlier this year, the identical sister vessel, the ‘Zheng He’, was launched and next month the launching of the ‘Fernão de Magalhães’ is planned. After this launching, the keel laying of the fourth and last cutter, the ‘Niccolò Machiavelli’, will take place. The four identical cutter suction dredgers are part of the investment program 2007-2011 and have a total installed diesel power of 23,250 kW and a cutter power of 7,000 kW. Only the 27,240 kW ‘J.F.J. De Nul’ can outclass them.