Trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) technology has undergone some major improvements over the last decade, which has led to lower costs per m3 dredged - partly due to economies of scale, but also because dredgers of the same size now have improved performance. New techniques and design tools have dramatically improved dredging and sailing performance, reducing operational costs during a dredger's lifetime. In this series of articles, we examine different trends and improvements in hopper dredger design and execution. Part 2 focuses on improvements in hull form and related sailing performance. Figure 1 shows the decrease in required power per ton payload and per knot speed for category hopper dredgers with 70 to 85m perpendicular length built over the last decade.
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