Dredges News

On Yonges Island, South Carolina, just up the Wadmalaw River from Charleston, the fourth-generation maritime company Stevens Towing Company continues to rewrite its own history. Long known for its towing and barge work, its ship repair business is growing at light speed, transforming what began decades ago as an internal maintenance yard into a dynamic commercial shipyard serving tugs, barges, OSVs, and dredge vessels from Florida to Virginia. At the center of this evolution is Kurt Olsen…

The United States dredging industry stands as one of the most competitive, efficient, and strategically vital sectors of the maritime economy. As part of the Jones Act fleet—the original Build America, Buy America industry — it not only strengthens our ports and waterways but also anchors thousands of middle-class jobs, spurs shipbuilding across the Gulf and East Coasts, and delivers exceptional value for taxpayers.The last several years have ushered in a quiet renaissance. Dredging firms large and small are modernizing their fleets, expanding capacity, and deepening critical U.S.

The Shearer Group, Inc. (TSGI) has announced a new addition to its naval architecture, marine engineering, and marine surveying firm, Tyler Zylinski. Tyler graduated from Webb Institute with a Bachelor of Science in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.During his time at Webb, Tyler interned at TSGI's sister company, BHGI. Tyler also interned at Marine Design and Operations in New Jersey where he worked on a variety of projects related to stability, stress analyses, fire safety plans, and structural inspections.

While political winds in the U.S. have significantly tampered many ‘green’ projects, Curtin Maritime is domiciled in California, which is globally known for its strict environmental initiatives. To that end, Curtin Maritime inked a contract recently to invest $160m for eight new hybrid-electric tugboats, vessels being built by Snow & Co. and featuring vertically integrated electric powertrains from Arc with Schottel propulsion. Maritime Reporter TV interviewed Martin Curtin, CEO…

Conrad Industries has announced a net income of $5.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2025.Earnings per diluted share of $1.16 compared to net income of $2.2 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.44 during the second quarter of 2024.The company had net income of $9.7 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.93 for the six months ended June 30, 2025 compared to net income of $3.7 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.75 for the six months ended June 30, 2024.During the first six months of 2025…

The American Maritime Partnership (AMP), the voice of the domestic maritime industry, congratulates the more than 1,100 graduates from America’s maritime academies who make up the Class of 2025. These graduates now join the 650,000 men and women of the American maritime workforce.The 2025 graduates hail from the seven maritime academies in the United States: the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Kings Point, NY), State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College (Fort Schuyler…

The U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, through the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, tasked the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) with assessing how reduced dredging capacity may have impacted designated strategic seaports. In response, USTRANSCOM submitted a report titled Dredging and the Strategic Seaport Program, which has recently been declassified and made available to the public. The report outlines operational impacts, identifies root causes of dredging challenges…

Conrad Industries has announced today its first quarter 2025 results with a net income of $3.9 million compared to $1.5 million during the first quarter of 2024.During the first three months of 2025, Conrad signed $67.3 million in contracts in its new construction segment compared to $51.8 million added to backlog during the first three months of 2024. Conrad’s backlog was $292.0 million at March 31, 2025, $293.8 million at December 31, 2024 and $247.3 million at March 31, 2024.The…

Conrad Industries, Inc. has announced its 2024 results and backlog, reporting a net income of $11.2 million and income per diluted share of $2.24 for the 12 months ended December 31, 2024 compared to net loss of $27.0 million and loss per diluted share of $5.39 for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023.The company’s backlog as of December 31, 2024 was $293.8 million, compared to $253.8 million at December 31, 2023, and $244.1 million at December 31, 2022.Johnny Conrad, Chairman and CEO stated, “Our operating results for 2024 improved despite a continued challenging environment.

We are at the one-year since the Francis Scott Key (FSK) Bridge collapsed over the Patapsco River’s Fort McHenry Channel in Baltimore, Maryland. Nearly 100 percent of the wreckage and debris removal was conducted by the Jones Act private sector U.S. maritime industry. The FSK collapsed at about 1:28 a.m. local time on March 26, 2025 after the container ship MV DALI lost power and collided with one of bridge’s support piers. Six construction workers died in the collapse, while two other workers survived the fall into the freezing water.

The Dutra Group, a California-based heavy civil marine contractor, has issued a notice to proceed to Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) for the construction of a 10,464 cubic yard trailing suction hopper dredge, named Adele.The ship will be constructed at ESG's Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities. Delivery is scheduled for late 2028.The Adele will join The Dutra Group’s 9,870 cubic yard trailing suction hopper dredge Stuyvesant serving our nation’s essential waterways.The newbuild will be based on Royal IHC’s Beagle design.

Manson Construction has long been a pillar of the U.S. maritime industry, rooted in a tradition of U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-operated vessels. The company was founded in 1905 by Peter Manson, when he dug up a jar of gold coins [because he didn’t trust the banks] and purchased a winch, a winch that was then put on a barge and that became Manson's first pile driver. With barge-mounted pile driver, Manson Construction  embarked on its journey into marine construction and eventually dredging, a journey which continues today as it has become a dominant player today in the U.S.

There’s more to domestic dredging than meets the eye. Dredging Contractors of America CEO Bill Doyle is just the guy tell you why.William P. Doyle serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Dredging Contractors of America (DCA). DCA represents the dredging industry on key issues before Congress and is an active partner to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, public port authorities, state and local governments, as well as allied construction and maritime organizations.Immediately prior to this appointment, Mr. Doyle served as the Port of Baltimore’s Chief Executive for three years.

Louisiana-based Conrad Industries announced a net income of $7.5 million for the quarter ending September 30, 2024.This compared to a $3.2 million loss during the third quarter of 2023. The company had net income of $11.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 compared to net loss of $14.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.The increase in net income is primarily due to improved gross profits in the company’s new construction segment and collection of a judgment in a lawsuit.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company on Friday held a naming ceremony for its new hopper dredge, Galveston Island.The newbuild is the first of two new 6,500-cubic-yard-capacity trailing suction hopper dredges (TSHD) being built by Conrad Shipyard for the United States' largest dredging contactor.The dredge is equipped with a direct high-power pump-ashore installation, dredging system automation, dynamic positioning and tracking, U.S. EPA Tier 4 compliant engines, and have capabilities of running on biofuel to minimize the environmental impact.

Reserve, La. based DSC Dredge announced it has promoted Stephen McMahon to vice president of product support. He succeeds John “Sonny” Lightsey, who dedicated over 29 years to DSC.McMahon's journey at DSC began in 2011 in the hydraulic and mechanic shop, working under Troy Redwine and Carl Ulrich. His hands-on experience in the field and passion for problem-solving quickly propelled him through the ranks. Early in his career, he was sent to assist with the assembly of a dredge in Nebraska, where he came to the realization of his love for travel and fieldwork.

Heavy competition within the U.S. dredging sector helps to save American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year, as highlighted by a recent industry report.According to the "U.S. Dredging Report: An Analysis of the FY23 U.S. Federal Dredging Market", compiled by dredging industry insider Michael Gerhardt, highly competitive U.S. dredging companies saved taxpayers $707 million for contracts awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in FY 2023 alone.The USACE awards a diverse array of dredging projects…

Ten weeks after the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, salvage crews successfully removed the final large steel truss segment blocking the 700-foot-wide Fort McHenry Federal Channel on June 3-4.Using concrete breakers, underwater surveys, and oxyacetylene torches, they separated tons of concrete roadway, cable, and steel rebar from "Section 4C" while removing debris with clamshell dredges.On May 20, Unified Command had cleared the Federal Channel to a width of 400 feet and a depth of 50 feet, allowing deep-draft commercial vessels to access the Port of Baltimore.

On April 19th, 2024, Muddy Water Dredging, LP, held the christening ceremony of its Marlin Class dredge at the Port of New Orleans. The event was attended by many esteemed business leaders, media personnel, and distinguished dignitaries. "We are happy to unveil the Vaneta Marie dredge. After many hours of collaboration between Muddy Water and DSC what we have before us is a dredge that was crafted with precision and ingenuity," said Michael Kerns, President, and CEO of Muddy Water.

As the U.S. offshore wind industry endures a predictable number of stops and starts during its adolescence, common mantras are ‘learn from the established European model’ and ‘embrace technology transfer from the offshore oil and gas sector.’ In Robert Langford, the American Bureau of Shipping has all of that and more bundled in one neat package.Rob Langford has worked in the offshore industry for more than three decades, ‘cutting his teeth’ in a UK design firm working in the North Sea oil and gas platforms, the holy grail of rigorous conditions in offshore energy production.

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…

U.S. shipbuilder Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc (ESG) on Wednesday announced it is teaming up with Dutch shipbuilding group Royal IHC to design and construct a highly automated hopper dredge for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).The diesel-electric vessel, contracted for the Department of Defense, will be constructed at ESG's Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities in Florida for scheduled delivery in 2027.The new 6,000-cubic-yard-capacity medium-class hopper dredge (MCHD) will be based at the Corps’ Philadelphia District…

2024 marks another year for development of a biennial WRDA bill—Water Resources Development Act, critical legislation for the Nation’s waterways, ports and harbors. WRDA encompasses a range of issues, from environmental regs to energy use to agriculture and, of course, a focus on projects critical for economic growth.Because these are dynamic and timely issues, Congress and the maritime sector like to keep WRDA on a two-year reauthorization timeline. Indeed, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, December and January, held three WRDA information hearings.