05-04-2025
Construction begins on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers new hopper dredge
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Construction on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' new medium class hopper dredge is officially underway.
Eastern Shipbuilding crews held a traditional steel-cutting ceremony Friday morning at the Allanton Shipyard.
Eastern is building the vessel for the U.S Army Corps of Engineers' Ready Reserve Fleet. It will respond to emergency dredging jobs, operating about 70 days of the year.
'Congress passed a law long ago that said dredging is so critical. We want to make sure as a nation that we have a ready reserve fleet, proper dredges, and other dredges that can respond in the event that private businesses can't respond timely. So that's exactly what this ship will do,' Eastern Shipbuilding Group CEO Joey D'Isernia said.
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The hopper dredge is the primary tool used in beach renourishment projects. However, this vessel will be primarily used to dredge shipping channels up to 100 feet deep.
'We have over 45,000 miles of coastline in inland navigation federal channels that must be dredged to ensure that we support economic growth in the country and in the region,' U.S Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters Director of Operations Stephen Hill said.
The hopper dredge costs about $250 million to build. The Army Corps will pay for it with money generated from other projects.
'It's like taking out a loan from ourselves. We borrowed money from ourselves to award a contract to build the vessel. And then once it's in place, the service will repay the loan by a daily rental where the costs go up between $120,000 a day to run the McFall, to pay the crew the oil to take care of the vessel,' U.S Army Corps of Engineers Regional Business Director John Primavera said.
It will take up to 30 months to finish the dredge. Once completed, the vessel will work out the Philadelphia district. It has not yet been named.
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