Eastern Shipbuilding lands hopper dredge ATB order

Great Lakes Dredging & Dock is one of the largest dredging companies in the U.S., with a fleet of over 200 specialized vessels

APRIL 1, 2014—Almost a year after terminating an award to build a Trailer Suction Hopper Dredge ATB, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC (GLDD), Oak Brook, IL, is once again moving ahead with the order, signing a contract with Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG), Panama City, FL.

Under the contract, ESG will construct a Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge ATB (Articulated Tug Barge) Unit consisting of a 433 ft x 92 ft Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge Barge and 158 ft 4 in, 15,600 bhp, CPP Tug. The ATB unit would be the first of its kind built for marine dredging.

According to an SEC filing in January by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, the vessel construction contract with Eastern is in the amount of approximately $140 million, “which is inclusive of the costs associated with certain equipment and materials to be provided by GLDD LLC in connection with the construction of the articulated tug and hopper dredge, and is subject to adjustment based on the actual neat steel weight of the hopper dredge.”

Back in 2012, when Great Lakes placed the original order for the ATB dredge with Signal International it put the aggregate price at $94 million.

Named the GLDD302 (ESG Hull 252), the ATB Tug detailed engineering is being performed by Ship’s Architect, Inc. and the GLDD151 (ESG Hull 253), the ATB Dredge Barge by Bay Engineering, Inc. Both are the based upon an Ocean Tug & Barge Engineering, Inc. ATB design. This Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge, Articulated Tug and Barge (ATB) Unit, will be delivered in 2016.

GLDD302 ATB tug’s 15,662 bhp will be produced by two MaK 12M32C-T3 diesel engines. Other equipment includes two 2,500 kW main generators, 6600VAC shaft generators, a 730 kW Caterpillar C32-T3 auxiliary generator, and a 550 kW Caterpillar C18-T3 emergency generator. The U.S.-flag tug will be classed by ABS, ABS +A1, +AMS, ACCU, Oceans, Towing Vessel Unlimited Service, with additional notations ILO, and certified under SOLAS/IMO/MARPOL, USCG Dual-Mode ITB, 33/46CFR and Subchapters, E, F, G, I, J, M, Q and S.

The GLDD151 ATB Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge Barge will have a hopper capacity of 14,920 CYS, and its dredge system power will be supplied by two 5,000 hp EMD ME20G7C-T3. It will also have two 800 hp Schottel STT2 Electric, Fixed Pitch bow thrusters, and a 910 kW Caterpillar C32-T3 harbor generator. It will be classed by ABS +A1, +AMS, Unmanned Cargo Barge and certified under SOLAS/IMO/MARPOL, and USCG, 33/46CFR NVIC Publications, Certificated “I” Unmanned.

The Great Lakes dredge will be a key tool in performing the restoration of the eroded land mass in the U.S. Gulf Coast states. Additionally, the vessel’s ability to cost-effectively deepen and maintain navigable waterways will bolster the United States’ competitive position in world trade, as the nation’s ports move forward with deepening plans to accommodate the larger vessels, which will sail through the expanded Panama Canal.