Bill Hanson News

The United States' largest dredging contractor Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation announced it has signed an agreement with the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University to provide funding and technical support for what will become the Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Laboratory of Dredging and Coastal Studies.Lasse Petterson from Great Lakes commented, “Our company has had a long and robust relationship with Texas A&M that has included research, participation in dredging short courses, and advocacy for the ocean and coastal engineering profession.

For dredging company officials, the first quarter of 2021 was a pretty good start to a new year. In a tough business, challenges and pitfalls are always expected. But from a bigger picture perspective—markets, regulations and policies—company officials couldn’t be faulted if a bit of optimism infused their worldview.There are a number of reasons for this. Many are well known and don’t need to be detailed here. Just quickly, though, WRDA 2020 would be at the top of the list. WRDA…

Conrad Shipyard hosted a keel laying ceremony for a new 6,500 cubic yard trailing suction hopper dredge it is building for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company (GLDD). Delivery is scheduled before the end of the first quarter of 2023.The dredge will feature two 800mm suction pipes and will be able to dredge at depths of up to 100 feet. The vessel has principal dimensions of approximately 346 feet in length, 69 feet in breadth and 23 feet in depth, and total installed horsepower of 16,500. The new dredge will be well-suited to multiuse applications on various project types.

It was an odd legislative journey, but ultimately one with a happy ending. That’s one way to sum up the rather tortuous process that led to the passage of the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (WRDA). For the first time WRDA (usually reauthorized every two years) was not enacted as its own legislative bill. This time it was rolled into the massive government 2021 omnibus budget bill, the ‘‘Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,’’ signed into law on December 27.Still, the WRDA text itself…

When maritime stakeholders think about dredging, they typically first conjure up visions of harbor deepening projects to accommodate those giant, post-Panamax boxships. Conversely, inland players hope for maintenance dredging in the heartland to keep the nation’s 31,000 cargo barges afloat as they head for the coast. But, there is much more to it than that. In Louisiana, dredging, of course, keeps Louisiana's waterways open for navigation, provides material for coastal restoration and helps industrial plants with drainage. The biggest projects are sponsored by the U.S.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the appointment of 29 new members to the Marine Transportation System National Advisory Committee (MTSNAC). Established in 2010, MTSNAC is comprised of leaders from commercial transportation firms, ship construction, repair and recycling, trade associations, state and local public entities, labor organizations, academics, and environmental groups that advise the Secretary and the Maritime Administration on policies to ensure that the U.S. Marine Transportation System is capable of responding to projected trade increases. The Committee advises the Secretary on solutions to impediments hindering effective use of short sea transportation and other matters as the Secretary determines.

Along the way, ATBs gain speed, efficiency, safety – and popularity. Operators of articulated tugs and barges, or ATBs, say they like the maneuverability, weather reliability, stability, speed of these units, and the manner in which the tug pushes the barge. As a marine transportation concept, they can also simply be described as versatile. ATBs move petroleum, chemicals, coal, grain, containerized cargo and rail cars for customers on the U.S. coasts, rivers, the Great Lakes and overseas. As a result, demand for articulated units expanded in the last two decades with new technology.

Ellicott Dredges, LLC-a unit of Ellicott Dredge Enterprises, LLC-and its management have recently received multiple awards from international and national organizations for its technical innovations, leadership in the dredging industry, organizational growth, and community contributions. Ernst & Young, one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, has announced that Ellicott Dredges' President Peter Bowe is the recipient of its 2009 "Entrepreneur of the Year" award for Maryland in the manufacturing category. An independent panel of seven judges selected Bowe from the nominee pool.