On February 19, 2004, the dipper dredge “Rialto M. Christensen” excavated a record 7,800 cubic yards of material in a single eight-hour watch from the bottom of the Panama Canal, working on the Gatun Lake deepening project. The original record was set nearly a century ago, when, in February of 1916, the dipper dredge “Cascadas” excavated 7,770 cubic yards of material. Steam-powered, the Cascadas arrived to Panama in 1915 from Camden, New Jersey, beginning dredging operations that year on October 31, including removal of material in the Gaillard Cut. The record set by the Cascadas had not been broken or matched for 88 years – until this February. The Christensen arrived in Panama from Hokodate, Japan, in September of 1977.
