Queen of the Netherlands (ship)

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Career

Name:	Queen of the Netherlands
Owner:	Royal Boskalis Westminster
Port of Registry:	Netherlands
Builder:	Verolme Scheepswerf (Shipyard) Heusden B.V.
Completed:	1998
Identification:	IMO 9164031
General characteristics
Tonnage:	32,000 ton
Length:	173.15 m (568 ft 1 in) overall 155 m (508 ft 6 in) between perpendiculars
Beam:	32 m (105 ft 0 in)
Draught:	13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Installed power:	27,634 kW (37,058 hp)
Speed:	16.7 kn (30.9 km/h)

The Queen of the Netherlands is a Dutch trailing suction hopper dredging ship constructed in 1998. The vessel has been used in high-profile salvage and dredging operations including the investigation into the Swissair Flight 111 crash^[1] and in the Port Phillip Channel Deepening Project. It has been called "the world's largest floating vacuum cleaner".^[1]

The ship's dredge is 6m wide and can dredge between 55m and 115m deep. The ship has three hopper discharge options. The ship's hopper is among the largest in the world. ^[2] The ship has equipment to dredge almost any material; the Port Phillip Channel Deepening Project will likely see it remove 23 million cubic metres of clay, silt, sand and limestone from the bottom of Port Philip Bay.^[3] During the Swissair Flight 111 salvage operation, a mixture of sea water, silt and aircraft pieces was pumped out of the Atlantic Ocean. The ship recovered 98% of the aircraft, with over 144,698 kg of aircraft and cargo pieces salvaged. ^[4]