VIDEO: ESG lays keel for new USACE hopper dredge Donnelly

Photo: ESG

Panama City, Fla.-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) and its partners, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Royal IHC, recently held a keel laying ceremony for the hopper dredge Donnelly at Eastern’s Allanton Facility.

The Donnelly is a medium class hopper dredge that has been under construction since April 2025. It will replace the 1967-built USACE dredge McFarland and will play a critical role in enabling the Corps to continue to deliver its navigation mission and provide for safe, reliable, effective, and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation systems.

ESG partnered with Royal IHC for the design and construction of the new dredge. Royal IHC’s well-known bulbous bow design is the basis for a vessel with a hopper capacity of 6,000 cubic yard, which is relatively high given the maximum vessel dimension requirements set for the vessel.

“As the shipbuilder for the Donnelly, this keel laying represents an important production milestone for our team and a clear demonstration of the progress being made on this vessel,” said Joey D’Isernia, chairman and CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group. “Our workforce is executing this program with a strong focus on quality, safety, and schedule performance, and we are proud to be building a hopper dredge that will support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ mission for years to come. We value the close collaboration with USACE and Royal IHC as we move forward with construction.”

The keel laying represents the ceremonial start of a ship’s life by commemorating the assembly of the initial modular construction units. Historically, shipbuilders would carve their initial into the keel toalidate that the keel was properly laid and of excellent quality. This tradition was memorialized by welding the ship’s sponsor’s initials into the keel authentication plate, by Trace Taylor, welder with ESG. Overseeing the weld was Russ Donnelly, representing the family of the late Ray Donnelly, the ship sponsor and vessel namesake, who retired as Chief of Resource Management for the USACE Philadelphia District in 2020. He previously received the Army Engineer Association’s de Fleury Medal (Bronze Order) in recognition of his 44-year career with both the U.S. Navy and USACE.

Since construction of the Donnelly began in 2025, modular construction has been progressing steadily, with unit builds and fabrication and assembly of various key components underway. Work is being carried out in close coordination between the USACE Marine Design Center, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, and Royal IHC.

The new dredge is on track to be placed into service in Fiscal Year 2028.

Donnelly specifications:

• Length: 320 feet
• Beam: 72 feet
• Hull Depth: 28 feet
• Draft (hopper empty): 11 feet 3 inches
• Draft (hopper full): 25 feet 6 inches
• Maximum hopper capacity: 6000 cubic yards
• Maximum dredge depth with suction tube at 45 degrees: 65 feet