Dredging Division News

Houston-based dredging contractor Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation announced that its Chief Operating Officer, David E. Simonelli, will retire effective September 16, 2022. After his retirement, he will provide consulting services to the company.Simonelli, who has spent 44 years with Great Lakes, became the President of the company’s Dredging Division in 2010, and Chief Operating Officer in 2018.Lasse Petterson, Great Lakes' President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Dave…

In late November 2017, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD), the largest provider of dredging services in the United States and a major provider of environmental and infrastructure services, took delivery of the new build ATB hopper dredge Ellis Island and tug Douglas B. Mackie after successful completion of United States Coast Guard and ABS regulatory sea trials. Representing a substantial reinvestment in the GLDD (and U.S. flag dredging) fleet, Ellis Island significantly…

The American Maritime Partnership (AMP), the voice of the domestic maritime industry, has highlighted the U.S. dredging industry’s commitment to build and maintain safe, efficient and cost-effective navigation channels in the nation’s inland waterways and ports. The recent deliveries of four state-of-the-art vessels, constructed by nearly 700 American workers in U.S. shipyards, are a reflection of the U.S. dredging industry’s continued investment in building dredges with increased…

Weeks Marine’s new self-propelled hopper dredge, Magdalen, was delivered by Eastern Shipbuilding on December 22 following sea trials and regulatory inspections. The newbuild is one of the two newest, and among the largest hopper dredges in the U.S., and will bring formidable pumping power to offload beach quality sand or other materials for land reclamation. On December 28, the new dredger sailed from Eastern's Allanton facility in Panama City, Fla. on her maiden voyage to the East Coast.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation has taken delivery of the newly built ATB hopper dredge Ellis Island and tug Douglas B. Mackie following completion of U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) regulatory sea trials. The Jones Act dual mode articulated tug/barge (ATB) trailing suction hopper dredge was built by Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. David Simonelli, President of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation's dredging division, said, “This advanced vessel which improves the competitiveness of our hopper group and represents a substantial reinvestment in our fleet.

Weeks Marine Inc. (WMI) has ordered a new $60 million oceangoing, 30-inch hydraulic cutter suction dredge, the JS Chatry. Construction is underway in Belle Chase, La., at C&C Marine and Repair. “While the national coastal restoration and protection market is growing, we are especially optimistic about the market here in Louisiana. We have taken note of the Governor’s and the Legislature’s commitment to the Master Plan and the protection of critical dedicated funds for their intended purpose,” said Richard S. Weeks, WMI President. “The JS Chatry is the next advance in technology, efficiency and productivity and I am excited about what it means for both Weeks Marine and for the capacity of nation’s dredging industry,” said Eric W. Ellefsen, WMI’s Executive Vice President.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA)’s Dredging Services division has embarked on a $ 1.1 million maintenance dredging campaign at the Port of Cape Town to restore the design depths inside Duncan dock. The maintenance campaign, which began on March 8, 2017, is scheduled for completion by the end April 2017. The main objective of the dredging campaign is to ensure the Port of Cape Town provides safe navigational channels and berthing facilities for shipping by restoring the original design depths.

Dhaka-based business conglomerate DBL Group has recently launched its dredging business, DBL Dredging. To support its entry into this new market it ordered two IHC Beaver 50 cutter suction dredgers (CSDs), and two Delta Multi Craft (DMC) 1050 work boats. The two IHC Beaver 50s were delivered with a spud carrier pontoon, anchor boom installation, production measuring system and dredge track presentation system (DTPS). This will enable DBL to perform an efficient dredging operation.

Dutch offshore engineer Boskalis said it was cutting 650 jobs worldwide and culling 24 vessels in response to what it called drastic changes in the company's outlook caused by low energy and commodity prices. The job cuts, including 150 Dutch employees, would be made over the next two years from a workforce of about 8,000, the company said on Friday. The company will take 10 vessels out of service at its dredging division and 14 at its offshore energy division because poor market conditions were likely to persist.

MTG attended the Wodcon XXI World Dredging Congress and Exhibition from June 13-17, 2016, introducing its latest solutions for the dredging market. The new MTG Systems DMet is a G.E.T system ideal for cutter and hopper dredgers, which improves productivity and increases protection, even for applications such as hard rock. This system features a self-sharpening tooth design with a higher wear material ratio. The system also includes a hammerless locking technology, MTG Twist, which provides a quick, easy and safe tooth replacement. With a range of teeth with optional use of inserts and extra protection for the adapter, the MTG Systems DMet is robust and resistant…

The Adani Group has signed a contract for two IHC Beagle 8 trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHDs). These two 8,000m3 vessels belong to the standardised IHC Beagle series, designed and built by IHC using over a century of dredging experience. The IHC Beagle series achieves high levels of efficiency and maximum uptime as a result of its uniform design and the use of high-end components. The vessels are reliable performers, with an emphasis on operational excellence. Each comes equipped with IHC’s Trailspeed Controller (TSC) and Eco Pump Controller (EPC). Developed in-house, the TSC ensures a constant speed while dredging, which leads to higher average production results and greater levels of consistency…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation, the largest provider of dredging services in the United States and a major provider of environmental and remediation services, announced today that it will participate in the events planned to celebrate the recent completion of the New Suez Canal Project in Egypt, which will allow two way traffic by creating a parallel channel alongside 70 kilometers of the existing Canal. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled today August 6, 2015. Great Lakes, along with its Consortium partner Dredging International NV, was responsible for dredging approximately 40 million cubic meters to -24m depth along a 29.5 kilometer stretch of the Canal for a contract value of US$600 million.

Royal IHC (IHC) has launched the first Easydredge 2700, the first vessel in its range of standard trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHD) to be delivered in summer 2015. The launch took place at the shipyard of IHC's partner, MTG Dolphin, in Varna, Bulgaria. The new vessel will be supplied with a "world-dredging package", which includes bottom doors, a bow coupling and a dredging depth of 25 meters. This makes her suitable for a wide range of tasks, from the maintenance of ports and channels, to land reclamation.

Royal IHC (IHC) is constructing the first vessel in its range of competitively priced standard trailing suction hopper dredgers (TSHD). It has started to build the Easydredge 2700 for stock in response to the increasing global demand for TSHDs with an extremely short delivery time. The new vessel will be supplied with a “world-dredging package”, which includes bottom doors, a bow coupling and a dredging depth of 25 meters. This makes her suitable for a wide range of tasks, from the maintenance of ports and channels, to land reclamation, IHC Royal said. Fer Tummers, Managing Director of IHC’s Dredging Division, explained, "Building a TSHD for stock is a logical step forward for IHC. We are convinced that this is also an excellent opportunity for our customers operating worldwide.

Spend dollars up on dredging, cubic yards moved down. Combined with a reduction in the USACE federal budget, the situation threatens a perfect storm for domestic requirements. U.S. dredging this decade, measured in cubic yards, is only half as active as it was in the early 1960s, with maintenance down slightly since then and new work off considerably, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or USACE. The nation’s spending on dredging in unadjusted dollars has swelled tenfold since the 1960’s, however.

The South African company Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has named its 750m3 grab hopper dredger, Italeni, during a special ceremony hosted by the shipbuilder IHC Merwede. The ceremony was performed on June 18 by TNPA’s Supply Chain General Manager, Ncumisa Nkanunu, in the shipyard of IHC Merwede’s partner, MTG Dolphin, in Varna, Bulgaria. The contract for the design, construction and delivery of the grab hopper dredger was signed between TNPA and IHC Global Production, part of IHC Merwede, on January 29, 2013.

IHC Merwede announced that it has appointed Bram Roelse as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with immediate effect as of April 1, 2014. He has taken over this leading role within the company from predecessor Dirk Philips who stepped back in November 2013. Roelse has worked at IHC Merwede for the past 13 years. He was originally appointed as the Managing Director of the company’s business unit IHC Systems. At the end of 2004, he moved to the company’s shipyard at Kinderdijk, where he became Director of the Dredging division.

IHC Merwede named and launched the 23,545 kW self-propelled cutter suction dredger ‘AL BAHAR’ C/D HUTA 12 in a ceremony on March 8, 2014 at the company’s shipyard in Kinderdijk, The Netherlands. It is building the innovative vessel for Huta Marine Works, which is based in Saudi Arabia. The ceremony was performed by Sylvia Wuebbens, the daughter of M. Wuebbens, the Managing Director of Huta Marine Works. The contract for the design, construction and delivery of the vessel was signed between Huta Marine Works and IHC Holland, part of IHC Merwede, on October 11, 2012.

IHC Merwede says it has been successful in securing orders worth € 350 million for a wide range of dredging and offshore vessels and equipment, including a large trailing suction dredger for a Chinese customer. The company's Dredging division has confirmed new contracts for the delivery of a large custom-built trailing suction hopper dredger, with units that will be supplied by IHC Beaver Dredgers as well as a cutter suction dredger training simulator. The Offshore division has also announced orders for the construction of a 300-tonne pipelaying vessel…

IHC Merwede has secured orders worth €350 million for a wide range of dredging and offshore vessels and equipment. The company’s Dredging division has confirmed new contracts for the delivery of a large custom-built trailing suction hopper dredger, 13 units that will be supplied by IHC Beaver Dredgers and a cutter suction dredger training simulator. The Offshore division has also announced orders for the construction of a 300-metric-ton pipelaying vessel, as well as a J-Lay pipelaying system and a tandem mooring system.

The Panama Canal commemorates 100 years of dredging Culebra Cut, removing the last barrier during its construction for the free movement of vessels along the 80-kilometer waterway. Following the calendar of activities in the countdown to the centennial, the Panama Canal highlighted the significant role played by dredging to ensure the safe navigation through the waterway, even before its opening 100 years ago. "Dredging is key to ensure the safe and efficient navigation through the Panama Canal on its nearly 100 years of operation," said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L.

As part of the preparations for the expanded Panama Canal, the Board of Inspectors of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has certified 12 new tugboat captains after successfully completing training. This is the fourth group of the program which started in 2008 and has certified 47 tugboat captains. This represents 50% of the goal set to meet the demand for the efficient and safe transit of vessels through the new locks of the Panama Canal. “This new generation of tugboat captains reaffirms our commitment to provide an efficient service to our customers,” Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L.

A backhoe dredger built by IHC Merwede was named ALBERTO ALEMÁN ZUBIETA at its associate's NMC shipyard, in Nieuw- Lekkerland, The Netherlands. The backhoe dredger will initially be used for the expansion of the Panama Canal and subsequently for its maintenance. The vessel was built by IHC Merwede for Autoridad del Canal de Panama (ACP) and was named by Mrs Ana Matilde Alemán, who is the wife of ACP's former CEO, Mr Alberto Alemán Zubieta. A large delegation from ACP attended the event…