Last Friday, the Vox Máxima was launched at IHC Merwede Shipyards, Kinderdijk, the Netherlands. Although one of the towing lines snapped, extensive precautionary measures prevented the ship from hitting the shore. Watch a video of the launch on this website.

The ship is named after Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, who officiated during the naming and launching. She was accompanied by dignitaries including Dutch Minister of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Mr. Camiel Eurlings, the Queen’s Commissioner for South-Holland, Mr. Jan Franssen, and national and international business relations of IHC Merwede and Van Oord.   

With a hopper capacity of 31,000 m³, Vox Máxima is the largest dredging vessel ever built in the Netherlands and is also the largest ship built in the country since 1990. Final construction will take place in the coming months. Vox Máxima will go into operation in late 2009.

IHC Merwede built the ship for dredging company Van Oord. Van Oord’s total investment programme amounts to approximately EUR 1 billion, EUR 840 million of which has already been allocated to new equipment projects.