The Emerald Duchess – a £23m for dredger for the River Tees - has been officially named by PD Ports' longest serving member of staff in a ceremony on the banks of the river.

The christening ceremony, traditionally held to bring luck to a new vessel and all who sail in her, was attended by 250 people from across Teesside’s river community, business and education leaders and maritime experts.

The vessel’s godmother is Sue Green, who has served PD Ports as the Harbour Master’s secretary for almost 40 years, during which time she has supported the wide range of stakeholders who work on and around the river.

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The ceremony on the riverside Ro-Ro terminal at Teesport saw a bottle of Champagne successfully smashed on the Emerald Duchess’ striking green hull, following a blessing delivered by the port chaplain Deacon Peter Barrigan.

The Emerald Duchess – built by renowned Dutch shipbuilder Neptune - is a major investment by PD Ports, as dredging activity on the Tees takes place daily and is vital to keep the river safe and navigable for the thousands of vessels that visit its waters each year.

The Emerald Duchess is expected to serve the Tees for up to 50 years and has been ‘future-proofed’, with an innovative intelligent power management system including a battery pack equivalent to 10 Tesla cars and using fuel made from hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel.

It is also ready for future innovation, with hatches above the engine room that will allow power units to be swapped out for modern fuel cells as the technology matures, using methanol or ethanol fuel which will mean it will eventually run with zero greenhouse gas emissions.

The Emerald DuchessThe Emerald Duchess (Image: Tom Banks)

The Emerald Duchess, which can carry 2,500 tonnes and hold up 2,000 cubic metres of dredged material, is crewed by a team made up entirely of Teessiders, who have been carrying out trials on the river before the vessel starts active service.

In a speech during the ceremony, PD Ports chief executive officer Frans Calje said: “As a vessel she is state of the art, incorporating some of the latest technology not yet found widely in the UK, and thanks to the great minds of our team within PD Ports and our partners at Neptune, ready for the future.

“Green not only in colour but in the very core of her design, the Emerald Duchess is the embodiment of our commitment as a business to make sustainable, long-term decisions in all that we do.

“She has been designed with a lifespan of some 50 years so will likely outlast all of us in this room. The dredging activity we carry out on the river is under-appreciated, and misunderstood, by many, but in short without dredging, the river doesn’t function.

“It would be a matter of weeks if not days before vessels were unable to safely navigate the Tees and that would bring a huge proportion of this region’s trade and industrial activity to a crashing halt.

“With a role of such importance, we wanted to bring the best of the best to the Tees, putting our money where our mouth is.”

Sue Green added: "I’ve worked on the river for 42 years and seen new vessels arrive at PD Ports and then reached the end of their working lives t and sailed into the sunset in the time I've been here.

“I’ve really, really enjoyed it. That’s why I’m still doing what I’m doing and it’s the people that I work with, it’s just a lovely place to be.

“It’s an honour to be named godmother of the Emerald Duchess and I look forward to seeing her out on the river and knowing I have that connection to her.”

The event was supported by catering, aviation and business students from Stockton Riverside, as part of PD Ports’ commitment to offer meaningful work experiences to young people.