Dutra Group awards dredge contract to Eastern Shipbuilding

10,464-cubic-yard Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge, the Adele. (Credit: The Dutra Group)

San Rafael, Calif.-based The Dutra Group announced March 21 the issuance of a Notice to Proceed for the new-build construction of a 10,464-cubic-yard Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge (TSHD) the Adele at Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc.

The Adele will be constructed at Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Allanton and Port St. Joe, Fla., facilities. Delivery is scheduled for late 2028. The Adele will join The Dutra Group’s 9,870-cubic-yard TSHD Stuyvesant serving our nation’s essential waterways.

The Dutra Group is a leading heavy civil marine contractor focused on strengthening our nation’s maritime infrastructure through sustainable dredging and marine construction.  “This major investment continues The Dutra Group’s recapitalization efforts and focuses our resources on Dutra’s commitment to supporting America’s Jones Act fleet, our U.S. shipyards, and our nation’s maritime and economic security needs,” said Bill T. Dutra, founder and chairman. “The Adele will be American-owned, American-built, American flagged, and most importantly, American crewed.” 

“We are proud to partner with The Dutra Group on this exciting new project that will substantially enhance its operations,” said Joey D’Isernia, CEO of Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. “As the most experienced builder of dredges in the U.S., we are confident that we will deliver an exceptional vessel that will meet Dutra’s customer’s unique needs.”

DREDGE NAMESAKE

The new vessel’s name honors Bill Dutra’s mother, Adele Coelho. She was born on December 4, 1924, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Raised on the island of Molokai, she subsequently worked as a receptionist to the US Army Corp of Engineers at Pearl Harbor where she met Bill’s father Edward, who was then a captain in the U.S. civilian dredging fleet under the Jones Act. At that time, the U.S. was at war, and it required the civilian fleet of dredges and transport equipment to ultimately retake the Pacific theater and restore our freedom.

Adele’s contribution to the civilian military fleet at Pearl Harbor was her patriotic way of defending her country’s heritage. She understood the importance of family, or Ohana, and embodied the Aloha spirit of love, kindness, and respect. The Adele will represent her heritage and commitment to her homeland. Guided by that spirit of Aloha, the Adele will sail the tides and seas with strength and purpose, protecting the crew and inspiring all who serve aboard her.

ADELE DESIGN

“This state-of-the art, technically efficient new build vessel is designed meet our nation’s maritime infrastructure needs, now and in the future, as the low-cost provider of dredging services, including channel deepening, maintenance dredging, beach nourishment and coastal restoration projects,” said Harry Stewart, president and CEO at The Dutra Group. “America’s military and consumers depend on our ability to keep our U.S. waterways open and safe.”

The Adele is based on Royal IHC’s Beagle design. The IHC Beagle Mk2 is a twin screw trailing suction hopper dredge. The hopper has a V-shaped cross section and is provided with a single row of bottom doors, which is ideal for quick offloading of dredged material. The design also incorporates a bow connection for high efficiency material pump off to service the shoreline and wetland material placement market. The hull shape is optimized with a bulbous bow to reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency.

The accommodation deckhouse and wheelhouse are situated on the fore ship. The wheelhouse has separate consoles for navigation and dredging, each positioned such that both the helmsman and the dredge master have excellent views of their respective operations. The intuitive hopper control chair is ergonomically shaped with the control and presentation of the dredging equipment around the dredge master at close hand, providing optimal control over all dredge processes.

The dredge has one engine room in the aft of the vessel. The dredge pumps are in a separate pump room and are driven by the main diesel engines through a reduction gearbox.

VESSEL SPECIFICATIONS:

Dimensions: 347 x 79.5 x 37 FT

Hopper Volume: 10,464 CY

Total Installed Power:  13,290 HP

Suction Pipe Diameter: 2 x 35.4 IN

Digging Depth: 90 FT

Total Loaded Draft: 26.9 FT

Dead Weight All Told: 11,584 LT