American Pride: Working Hard in the US Dredging Industry
We have had a great first couple of months at the Dredging Contractors of America. As the new CEO and Executive Director, I have begun to visit the companies, their facilities and associated dredging projects. So far, I have surveyed the beach re-nourishment project in Ocean City, Md. undertaken by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock. I’ve canvassed Weeks Marine’s repair and yard facility in Jersey City, N.J. In the last week of February, I visited Mike Hooks Inc.’s corporate headquarters and boatbuilding and repair yard in West Lake, La.
William P. Doyle Appointed as DCA Executive Director & CEO
The Dredging Contactors of America’s (DCA) has selected the Honorable William P. Doyle, Sr. as its new Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). William Doyle currently serves as a Commissioner with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission having been unanimously confirmed twice by the U.S. Senate as a Presidential Appointee, and remained onboard with the Administration of President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Doyle served over a decade as an officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine as an engineer aboard numerous classes of vessels. He is a licensed attorney and marine engineer. Combined, he has over 25 years of experience in transportation and maritime policy serving in senior level executive roles including Presidential appointee and previously chief-of-staff…
Capsized Boats Leave Mile-long Sheen in Mobile
Vessels were being urged to travel carefully through the Mobile shipping channel on Tuesday after two boats containing 2,000 gallons of oil capsized the previous night, leaving a mile-long sheen, the U.S. Coast Guard Mobile Sector said. Five crew members were rescued from the 52-foot (15-metre) Delta Amber tugboat and the 26-foot (8-metre) Nicholas as the two ships sank around 10:45 p.m. The cause of the capsizing of the two boats, which were both employed in a dredging operation in the bay by Mike Hooks Inc, is under investigation by the Coast Guard. A boom was placed around the sunken boats to prevent the fuel and lubricating oil inside them from disseminating into the bay. A salvage operation is being led by Oil Recovery Corp.
Bean Dredging Awarded Contract
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.
Lake Charles Dredger Wins Contract
The New Orleans District, USACE, awarded a $1.43 million contract to Mike Hooks Inc., of Lake Charles, La., to build an underwater sill in the Mississippi River to check saltwater intrusion. Mike Hooks Inc., the low bidder, will use cutterhead Dredge 32 to build the sill from river-bottom sediment to protect fresh water for New Orleans. The same company and same dredge complete the job successfully in 1988. The 20-ft. high sill will be constructed at mile 63.7 above Head of Passes, where the river is 80 ft. deep. Location is at the upstream end of the BP Amoco oil refinery, where the 1988 sill was built, 12 miles downstream from the Belle Chasse water intake.
