Manson marks milestone in hopper dredge build
Written by Nick Blenkey
Manson Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President, Fred Paup, speaks at ceremony marking the laying of the keel of his namesake vessel.
Seattle, Wash., based Manson Construction and shipbuilder Keppel AmFELS recently marked a milestone in the construction of a 15,000 cu.yd self-propelled hopper dredge that, will be the largest in operation in the U.S. when completed.
An August 2 ceremony at the Brownsville, Texas, shipyard marked the laying of the keel, representing the official commencement of construction of the vessel in its final build position, with, in this case, the “keel” being the starboard half of Hopper Bay No. 3.
To be named Frederick Paup, the dredge has been designed in collaboration with Hockema Whalen Myers Associates, Inc. of Seattle and will have a length of 420 feet, breadth of 81 feet and draft of 28.5 feet.
The ceremony was attended by officials from the shipyard and Manson, including the vessel’s namesake, Manson Chairman of the Board and Executive Vice President, Fred Paup, who is a descendent of the company’s founder, Peter Manson.
“The Keppel AmFELS and Manson teams have been working well together, which is facilitated by our views on the importance of safety and quality,” Paup said. “Both companies share the core values of taking care of people, doing the right thing, and finding a better way. That has resulted in excellent communication and transparency throughout the build process. I would like to thank the Keppel AmFELS team and Manson’s project management team for their efforts in making this dredge become a reality.”
The placement of the first major element of the ship in the assembly area determines the dredge’s completion date, allowing the company to begin estimating when the vessel will officially be commissioned and put into service. The company can use this information for planning operations for the dredge, which is slated to be fully operational by spring 2023.
Manson Construction Co. project management team and leadership at the keel laying ceremony for the hopper dredge Frederick Paup. Left to Right: Colby Towle, Morrgan Haack, Jordan Brown, John Holmes, Fred Paup, Mike Coakley, Nick Maddox, John Stilwell, Daric Latham, Sean Hayden.
