Scale: 1:48. This appropriately named 12-inch suction dredger, 'Prince Farouk' (1930), built by Ferguson Brothers, Port Glasgow, was operated by Tilbury Contracting & Dredging Co. (Egypt) Ltd. for service in the Sudan. The company’s house colours on the mast have a green ‘E’ superimposed on the red and yellow banding.

The model illustrates that the vessel was actually two distinct dumb units joined by tackle and the suction discharge pipe. The main octagonal-hulled vessel had a triple expansion engine to power the dredging equipment. The suction dredging apparatus was mounted over the stern and could be raised to a vertical position by dropping the suction device into the well of the stern. The secondary unit was a pontoon, itself comprising two floating beds on which rests the huge derrick that holds the discharge pipe and winches that control the derrick’s alignment.

The fate of this extraordinary vessel is not known, nor is there much information about its career. Thankfully the model has survived as a prompt for further investigation.