Marine contractor Van Oord has commissioned the construction of a second self-propelled cutter suction dredger to IHC Merwede. This new vessel will be the sister to the Athena, the self-propelled cutter suction dredger that is currently under construction. Like the Athena, the new cutter suction dredger will be built at the IHC shipyard in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands.

The new cutter suction dredger will be 130 m long, with installed power of 24,650 KW, and will be, along with its sister vessel the Athena, amongst the most modern and powerful self-propelling cutter suction dredgers in the world.