Manson orders what will be largest U.S. hopper dredge
Written by Nick Blenkey
Dredge will be largest hopper dredge in U.S.
Seattle, Wash., based Manson Construction Co. has contracted with Keppel AmFELS to build a 15,000 cu.yd self-propelled hopper dredge at its Brownsville, Texas, shipyard, that will be the largest in operation in the U.S.
To be named Frederick Paup, the dredge has been designed in collaboration with Hockema Whalen Myers Associates, Inc. of Seattle and has a length of 420 feet, breadth of 81 feet and draft of 28.5 feet.
The dredge is slated to be fully operational by spring 2023 and marks Manson’s single biggest investment in its 115-year history. A U.S. bank-led syndication is providing financing.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Keppel AmFELS, due to their impressive vessel construction capabilities,” said John Holmes, Manson Construction Co. president. “Their value proposition is strengthened by our shared focus on safety.”
“This dredge is the culmination of years of work by our dedicated team and I am honored to bear its name,” remarked the dredge’s namesake, Manson’s chairman of the board, Frederick Paup. “We are proud that it will be U.S. built, U.S. flagged, and U.S. crewed, and will support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ mission of keeping the marine transportation highway open throughout the United States.”
Mohamed Sahlan Bin Salleh, president of Keppel AmFELS said, “We are pleased to be selected by Manson Construction Co. to build the largest U.S hopper dredger. It is a testament to the capabilities of our shipyard to build a wide variety of vessels for the Jones Act market. This project will be supported by our highly-skilled local workforce and suppliers across the U.S. This is our first newbuild project with Manson and we look forward to supporting them as they grow their fleet of vessels.”
“HWMA congratulates Manson Construction Co. and Keppel AmFELS on commencing this major hopper dredge project,” said Hal Hockema, president of Hockema Whalen Myers Associates (HWMA). “We are gratified that Manson chose HWMA to design the Frederick Paup in conjunction with Manson’s internal engineering and operations groups. Our longstanding relationship with Manson covers more than two decades of successful hopper dredge design and other engineering work. Complex projects like this provide an opportunity to offer our superior engineering and client relations capabilities. I also want to personally thank our design team at HWMA, and especially our project managers, Craig Pomeroy and Michael Minnig, for their fine work in developing this design. Our focus at HWMA is to ensure that the Frederick Paup will be a major force in the dredging market for decades to come.”
