Left to right: Jelle Brantsma (Specialized Vessels Director, Damen), Ross Shergold (Technical Manager, UK Dredging), Mark Pearson (General Manager, UK Dredging), Joppe Neijens (Sales Manager, Damen), Maxine Waddington (Senior Legal Counsel, Associated British Ports), Paul Bristowe (Chief of Staff, Associated British Ports), Mijndert Wiesenekker (Sales Director, Damen), and Olivier Marcus (Product Director, Damen). (Image credit: Damen)

Damen Shipyards Group and Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s largest port operator, have signed a contract for the construction of a new Trailing Suction Grab Hopper Dredger. The agreement, concluded in March through ABP’s subsidiary UK Dredging (UKD), represents an important milestone in the longstanding collaboration between the two organizations and the growing capability of UKD.