Acadia News

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (Nasdaq: GLDD), the largest U.S. dredging contractor, reported third-quarter 2025 earnings that topped profit estimates but came in just shy of revenue expectations, reflecting steady operations amid a cooling federal project environment and a shrinking backlog.The company reported revenue of $195.2 million, a modest 2% increase from last year’s $191.2 million but below analyst estimates of around $200 million. Net income rose to $17.7 million…

U.S. shipbuilders and port operators are getting hit in the fallout from President Donald Trump’s campaign to wipe out the offshore wind industry, suffering hundreds of millions of dollars in lost government support, vanishing vessel orders, and an uncertain future for the billions of dollars' worth of investments.The impact represents an unintended consequence of Trump’s policy on the offshore wind industry, which has included stop-work orders and permit reviews for massive projects…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation, the largest provider of dredging services in the United States, has launched the first U.S. flagged, Jones Act-compliant subsea rock installation (SRI) vessel, named Acadia, at Hanwha Philly Shipyard.The Acadia vessel is engineered to transport and precisely install up to 20,000 metric tons of rock on the seabed.The rock provides critical scour protection for subsea infrastructure including subsea cables for power transmission, telecommunications cables…

U.S. offshore wind aspirations, both federal and state, have resulted in excitement about the potential opportunity of a large U.S. offshore wind market. But uncertainty, initially financially driven and increasingly a result of political uncertainty, is leading us into a challenging period, which will undoubtedly impact short-term activity, according to the latest market report from Intelatus Global Partners. A darkening cloud for the U.S. wind industry is the forthcoming presidential elections…

Philly Shipyard has laid the keel for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation's subsea rock installation vessel, Acadia—the first Jones Act compliant rock placement vessel for the U.S. offshore wind industry.A May 2 keel-laying ceremony saw the vessel's first grand block loaded into the building dock, marking a significant milestone in the shipbuilding process.Great Lakes' CEO, Lasse Petterson, said, “Keel laying, commonly referred to as the birthday of a ship, is a big milestone in the ship construction process…

If nothing else, building vessels in the U.S. is a complicated business.In a session on the domestic shipbuilding marketplace, at Marine Money’s late-November 2023 conference held in New Orleans, Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards (with more than a dozen facilities, in Mississippi and Louisiana), described his company’s architecture as a “three-legged stool approach: commercial newbuilds, government newbuilds and repair/conversion capabilities”.On the same panel…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation announced its MARAD Title XI Financing application for its offshore wind rock installation vessel, the Acadia, has been updated to the "completed" category, indicating the loan process is moving towards the final phase.Lasse Petterson, Great Lakes president and CEO, said, “We have fostered a strong relationship with MARAD and are pleased to have reached this significant milestone in the application process. We continue to make great strides in our strategy to be a leading contributor in the evolving U.S.

U.S.-based dredging and marine services company Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation on Monday announced it has been awarded a third rock installation contract to perform subsea rock cable protection on an offshore wind project off the East Coast of the United States. The project remains subject to the client’s final investment decision (FID).Great Lakes will use the first Jones Act compliant subsea rock installation vessel, the Acadia, currently under construction at Philly Shipyard in the U.S. to execute the project. The project scope includes procurement of rock from our U.S.

It’s a big deal when a U.S. president visits an American shipyard, and these trips always send a message. When President Obama spoke at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in 2013, he warned of the consequences of sequestration. President Trump’s 2020 speech at Fincantieri Marinette Marine touted a $5.5 billion naval contract that gave a welcome boost to the Wisconsin shipyard and its supply chain partners. Most recently, President Biden traveled to Philadelphia’s Philly Shipyard…

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation has signed the first ever subcontract for rock procurement for a U.S. offshore wind farm with Carver Sand & Gravel LLC (“Carver”), a U.S. quarry in the state of New York.Through this subcontract, Great Lakes will use rock produced in the State of New York to provide scour protection for offshore wind turbine foundations, and substations at Equinor and BP's Empire Wind I and Empire Wind II wind farms. The rock will be quarried locally, transported to the quayside on the Hudson River…

President Joe Biden traveled to Philadelphia on Thursday to attend a steel cutting ceremony for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation's new offshore wind rock placement vessel, touting his administration’s clean energy agenda and job creation efforts as the U.S. builds up its offshore wind industry. "The clean energy future we’re building all across America will be transformational,” Biden said during the ceremony at Philly Shipyard. “Thousands of families will rely on good jobs these projects create…

“Not only does the top of the river move, but the bottom of the river also moves.” - James Bodron, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mississippi Valley Division, Regional Business Director.Dredging was the Herculean act that allowed much of the U.S. economy to keep chugging along as usual, at least for Midwest and Central states, as drought conditions threatened to shut down river traffic on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, during fall and winter 2022 and early 2023.The full scope of these U.S.

A newly built multi-functional 30m catamaran passenger vessel, Coastal Explorer, has been delivered for a whale watching excursion operator in Bar Harbor, Maine.Built by Gulf Craft in Franklin, La., the vessel closely follows two predecessors delivered in 2018, Acadia Explorer and Schoodic Explorer and brings the operator’s number of Incat-Crowther-designed  vessels to five total.Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co will use the USCG Subchapter T certified vessel for whale watching excursions…

A pair of multifunctional 29-meter catamaran passenger vessels, Acadia Explorer and Schoodic Explorer, have been delivered on the U.S. East Coast.Designed by Incat Crowther and built by Gulf Craft in Franklin, La. for Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co, the USCG Subchapter T certified vessels will be used for whale watching excursions, nature cruises and light house tours in the Acadia National Park and surrounding areas as well for providing tender services to cruise ships which frequent picturesque Bar Harbor…

Passengers and crew on Acadia Explorer, the new passenger boat just commissioned by Bar Harbor Whale Watching Co. in Maine, will experience a smooth and stable ride, thanks to interceptors and Active Ride Control supplied by Humphree USA.Acadia Explorer is a 98-ft. catamaran that carries up to 149 passengers. The boat was designed by Incat Crowther and built by Gulf Craft in Franklin, La. It will be used as a passenger tender for visiting cruise ships and also for lighthouse and…

Two maritime pilots who defied fire to bring a burning ship to safety, averting a major maritime catastrophe, received the 2017 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea during the 2017 IMO awards ceremony, held on Monday (27 November). Pilots Captain Michael G. McGee and Captain Michael C. Phillips, from Houston, United States, were recognized for their role in averting a major tragedy in September 2016. The ship they were piloting, the 247 meters-long tanker Aframax River, broke down in the Houston Ship Channel in the middle of the night and burst into flames after colliding with mooring dolphins. Captain McGee and Captain Phillips were surrounded by a towering wall of burning fuel as the raging fire quickly spread across the channel…

The Canadian Government has committed $51.9 million to support Atlantic Canada ferry services, announced Canada’s Transport Minister Marc Garneau. The funding, announced as part of Budget 2016, will support operations, maintain and repair ferry assets and dispose of the MV Princess of Acadia, which was taken out of service in July 2015 and replaced by the MV Fundy Rose. The funding has enabled the one year extension of contracts for interprovincial ferry services in Atlantic Canada…

Maintenance deficiencies and lack of adequate emergency procedures led to the November 7, 2013 loss of electrical power and grounding of the passenger ferry Princess of Acadia in Digby, Nova Scotia, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) found in its report, M13M0287. The incident caused no injuries or pollution. According to TSB, Princess of Acadia was approaching the ferry terminal at Digby, Nova Scotia with 87 passengers and crew aboard. In preparation for docking, as the bow thruster was started, the main generator blacked out causing a loss of electrical power and disabling the main propeller pitch control pumps. Once the pitch control pumps stopped…

Today in U.S. 1923 - U.S. Asiatic Fleet arrives at Yokohama, Japan, to provide medical assistance and supplies after Kondo Plain earthquake. 1939 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders Navy to form a Neutrality Patrol to report the presence of foreign warships within 300 miles of eastern United States. 1946 - USS Franklin Delano Roosevelt (CVB-42) and four escorts visit Greece to underscore U.S. support for the Greek Government which faced a Communist insurgency. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.

Today in U.S. 1923 - U.S. Asiatic Fleet arrives at Yokohama, Japan, to provide medical assistance and supplies after Kondo Plain earthquake. 1939 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders Navy to form a Neutrality Patrol to report the presence of foreign warships within 300 miles of eastern United States. 1946 - USS Franklin Delano Roosevelt (CVB-42) and four escorts visit Greece to underscore U.S. support for the Greek Government which faced a Communist insurgency. For more information about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil.

Government of Canada to invest in replacement of 'MV Princess of Acadia' for Digby to Saint John ferry service. The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament for Central Nova; Greg Kerr, Member of Parliament for West Nova; and Rodney Weston, Member of Parliament for Saint John, have announced that the Government of Canada will invest in a replacement vessel for the federally-owned MV Princess of Acadia. Travelling the 70 kilometres between Digby…

As Hurricane Earl approaches New England, the Coast Guard is actively tracking the storm’s progress and urging caution and preparedness for mariners and storm watchers. Hurricane force winds, heavy surf, strong storm surges, rogue waves, rip currents and coastal flooding are predicted. Rogue waves near break walls and jetties are particularly hazardous to beach-goers during hurricane conditions. Sudden large waves can easily sweep storm watchers into the water or drag vessels off moorings or piers.

On Feb. 11, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) announced that the 35-car M/V Acadia was taken out of service at the Plaquemine ferry landing because of a broken rudder. The M/V Acadia was taken to the shipyard and replaced with the smaller 17-car M/V Feliciana. Vehicle restrictions for the smaller vessel are: no trailers, no more than two axles, and no more than six wheels. Large trucks and trailers should use the Interstate 10 Mississippi River Bridge. The operating hours for the Plaquemine ferry are 5 a.m. - 9 p.m. seven days a week. Before traveling, drivers should call the Ferry Toll-Free Information line at 1-888-613-3779 for the status of the ferry, or visit the “Ferry Status” page on the right-hand side of the DOTD Web site. (www.dotd.la.gov)