awarded a dredging contract at Pascagoula, Mississippi to Bean Dredging L.L.C. Orleans. The award serves as a sharp rebuttal to Mike Hooks, Inc., a competing dredger, which had previously filed a protest challenging the award prematurely and without any substantial factual basis. The Hooks protest, which was filed on October 21, 2003, essentially challenged the US Coast Guard’s determination that the dredge MERIDIAN, which Bean Dredging proposed to use on the Pascagoula project, qualifies for a coastwise endorsement based on the citizenship of its owners. The award represents a rejection of this frivolous challenge that has already caused a six week delay in the execution of the project. Bean Dredging L.L.C.