New Great Lakes TSHD is in the water

Conrad Industries' backlog includes two trailing suction hopper dredges for Great Lakes Dredge and Dock. The first of them, Galveston Island, is expected to be delivered this year. [Photo: GLDD]

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) reports that the Galveston Island, the first of two newbuild trailing suction hopper dredges under construction at Conrad Shipyard, is in the water and is scheduled to be in operation the first half of 2023 as planned.

The company says that the upcoming delivery of the new dredge enables it to continue the rationalization of its older assets and that it will now retire the 42-year old hopper dredge Terrapin Island, in the fourth quarter of 2022. This vessel was not planned for retirement until the delivery of Galveston Island, but based on its age the company has decided to accelerate its retirement to significantly reduce its operating, labor and maintenance costs and improve productivity for the overall fleet.

Work planned for the Terrapin Island will be delayed until another hopper dredge completes its regulatory drydocking at the end of December.

The retirement of the Terrapin Island will result in a non-cash write-off of approximately $8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.

NEW DREDGE

Built to a basic design by C-Job Naval Architects, the new dredge is a 6,500-cubic-yard-capacity trailing suction hopper dredge (TSHD) that will be equipped with a direct high-power pump-ashore installation, dredging system automation, dynamic positioning and tracking, U.S. EPA Tier IV compliant engines, and will be able to run on biofuel to minimize its environmental impact. The vessel aso incorporates features to minimize turbidity and marine species entrainment.

The hopper fleet renewal program will be complete in 2025 with the delivery of the sister ship to the Galveston Island, at which time Great Lakes will have the largest and youngest hopper fleet in the U.S.

“After implementing our restructuring plan in 2017, we have invested in both productivity upgrades to our best performing vessels and executed on our newbuild program,” said Lasse Petterson, president and CEO of Great Lakes commented. “This has provided us with additional capacity and improved efficiencies and will allow us to retire some of our older dredges and rationalize some of our older support equipment. These strategic moves will have a positive impact to our emissions footprint and our competitiveness in the coastal protection and maintenance markets as well as address the specific needs in the growing offshore wind market.”