Whatever its immediate or ultimate source, this is an idealized portrait, painted 300 years after the event. His voyage launched the all-water route from Europe to Asia and he sailed again in 1502 with the title of Admiral of India, and a third time as Viceroy in 1524 but died soon afterwards. His mission was to break up the Muslim, Venetian and Genoese monopolies that controlled the lucrative trade route between Europe and Asia via the eastern Mediterranean.
In 1497 Vasco da Gama commanded an expedition, equipped by the Portuguese Government, that rounded the Cape of Good Hope for the first time and reached Calicut in India. The vessel is classified by Bureau Veritas with the notation 1 3/3 +E Hopper Dredger Deep Sea AUT-MS.This is one of several portraits of non-British explorers and maritime heroes that he obtained before his retirement in 1844, to complement the Gallery's portraits celebrating British naval endeavour. 24, 1524, Cochin, India), Portuguese navigator whose voyages to India (1497-99, 1502-03, 1524) opened up the sea route from. In addition, there are also two MAN B&W engines (8元2/40) units, with an output of 3,830kW at 7,200rpm, each of which which are linked to a VEM 3,150kVA alternator and via a Jahnel Kesterman reduction gearbox to a 1,500kW jet pump. There is a take-off to 2VEM 12,500kW main engine-driven alternators working at 1,200rpm. A Simrad Kongsberg Dynamic Positioning (DP) system has been installed. The two Lips bow thrusters have an output of 1,650kW each, while the two Lips stern thrusters have an output of 750kW each. Manoeuvring is assisted by four thrusters. The vessel is steered using two fully independent Becker flap rudders. The engines give the vessel a speed of a huge 16.5km at a 1,300m draught fully laden with her cargo of dredged material. The propellers are 5.5m in diameter and are designed for a rotational speed of 15rpm. These, in turn are connected to two aluminium-copper-nickel controllable pitch Lips propellers located in nozzles attached to the ship.
The aft end of the engines are linked to Jahne!-Kestermann A1S1520D propulsion gearboxes. When not used for suction operations, these can be directed at vessel propulsion. The power comes from two Man B&W 14V48160 engines with an output of 14,700kW each at 500rpm. The pumps are driven from the forward end of the main engines via three-speed Jahnel-Kestermann A2S13603S pump gearboxes. The dual-function dredge pumps operate at either 4,500kW to draw the spoil from the suction pipes to the hopper or 8,000kW for self-discharge through jet spray/bow coupling. The dredge pumps consist of two KF/GIW/44×51 MHD110 units.
The pump room and the suction pipe facilities are located aft of the hopper. The dredging pump can fill the hopper in a duration of just one hour. This results in the suction dredger transporting two to three times the load of many competing vessels each voyage. The Vasco da Gama’s vast hopper has a capacity 33,000m³. When the pipes are inclined at an angle of 55°, the vessel is suited to depths of around 80m but with the suction pipes inclined at an angle of 60° and extended, it is possible to increase the working depth to 125m by the use of a 5,500kW submerged dredging pump. The dredger normally works at depths of 45m to 60m. The suction pipes are raised and lowered using four gantries. The dredging itself is carried out by twin 1,400mm side suction pipes with wide drag heads. Vasco da Gama is capable of working at depths exceeding any other dredger.