Weeks Marine Orders New Dredger at Eastern

Dredging contractor Weeks Marine has ordered a new trailer suction hopper dredger from Eastern Shipbuilding Group, to be delivered in the first quarter of 2023.

The new dredge, RB Weeks, to be constructed at Eastern's Allanton shipyard in Panama City, Fla. will be a sister ship to the Eastern-built twin screw TSHD Magdalen placed into service in 2018. The RB Weeks is named after the co-founder of the company and the husband of Magdalen Weeks.

The shipbuilding order, signed on April 16, 2020, adds to billions of dollars in capital investments made recently by the U.S. dredging industry, said industry group Dredging Contractors of America.

“This is the third major capital construction shipbuilding project in as many years for Weeks Marine. It reflects Weeks Marine’s commitment to building dredges to serve the needs of the United States of America,” said William P. Doyle, Chief Executive Officer of the Dredging Contractors of America.

In addition to RB Weeks and Magdalen, Weeks placed into service it new cutter suction dredge (CSD) JS Chatry, built at C&C Marine and Repair in Belle Chase, La., in August 2019.

“I spoke this morning with Lt. General Todd T. Semonite, Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers informing him of the contract we signed with Eastern to build the new hopper dredge,” said Richard S. Weeks, Chief Executive Officer of Cranford, N.J.-based Weeks Marine. “We work hand-in-hand with the Army Corps of Engineers in delivering the mission for our country.”

“U.S. dredging companies are putting people to work and keeping them working doing America’s dredging – American built – American owned – American crewed,” Doyle said.

RB Weeks is also the third large scale hopper dredge over the past five years that Eastern has built and is constructing.

RB Weeks
Designer: Royal IHC
Builder: Eastern Shipbuilding Group
Dimensions (Overall): 356’ x 79’-6”’x 27’-3”
Main Engines: (2) GE 16V250 MDC IMOIII/EPA Tier 4
Main Propulsion: (2) Wartsila CPP in Nozzles
Main Gears: (2) Siemens (Flender)
Bow Thruster: (1) AC 730kW VFD Fixed Pitch Tunnel Unit
Main Shaft Generators: (2) x 3400kW
Auxiliary Generator: (1) GE 6L250 MDC (1423kW) IMOIII/EPA Tier 4
Emergency Generator: (1) Caterpillar C18 (430kW) IMOII/EPA Tier 3
Classification: Lloyd’s Register, 100A1 Hopper Dredger, LMC, UMS
Flag & Regulatory: USA, US Coast Guard
Hopper Capacity: 8,550 yd³ (6540m3)
Accommodations: 26 Person