The Japanese dredge DRM-5 "Paraguay", one of the most powerful on the regional waterway, has arrived in Pilar, in the Ñeembucú department, after being built in Japan and donated by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The vessel departed from the Uruguayan port of Nueva Palmira.
The official christening and flag-raising ceremony is scheduled for August 19, a date on which the Crown Prince of Japan, Akishino, the younger brother of Emperor Naruhito, will visit Paraguay. The event will take place at the Port of Asunción and will be attended by the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, as reported by the president of the National Administration of Navigation and Ports (ANNP), Julio Vera Cáceres.
According to Vera Cáceres, starting next Monday, a theoretical and practical training course will begin for 31 people, including 14 Navy members, ANNP employees, and five representatives from the River Shipowners' Union. The training will be conducted by Japanese technicians to operate the state-of-the-art dredge, which is fully automated and reaches a speed of 5 knots.
The vessel, built at the Fuji Kaiji Kogyo shipyard, has a sediment suction capacity of 1,500 cubic meters per hour, significantly higher than local dredges, which typically operate with capacities between 350 and 400 cubic meters. The dredge is not designed for rock dredging and will operate with the support of tugboats and barges for sediment transport. The 13-person crew will be housed on these tugboats, as the DRM-5 has no cabins or dining facilities.
The Paraguayan ambassador to Japan, Mario Toyotoshi, emphasized that the dredge is the result of years of bilateral cooperation and represents an advance for Paraguay's logistical sovereignty. For the country, which is critically dependent on the Paraguay-Paraná waterway, the new dredge is seen as a guarantee to maintain the river's navigability, which is essential for exports, especially during periods of drought and siltation that drive up logistical costs.