New ATB dredger for Great Lakes
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation, the only American dredging company with significant international operations, has cut steel for the construction of its articulated tug and barge (ATB) trailing suction hopper dredger.
The steel cutting occurred at Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Allanton facility in Panama City, Florida. David Simonelli, President of Dredging at Great Lakes said: “We are pleased to be partnering with Eastern Shipbuilding Group and look forward to continuing our collaborative working relationship during the construction of this newest addition to the Great Lakes dredging fleet.”
The 15,000 cubic yard capacity ATB trailing suction hopper barge Ellis Island and 14,000hp tug, Douglas B. Macki, will comprise the largest hopper dredger in the United States. They are expected to be delivered in 2016.
The Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, Mohab Mohamed Hussein Mamish, has signed a contract with a consortium consisting of Great Lakes (25%) and Dredging International NV of Belgium (75%) for Lot 6 of the widening and deepening of the Suez Canal. The contract is valued at $540 million and is part of a larger project to expand global trade and strengthen the economy in Egypt.
The contract awarded to the consortium involves the widening and deepening of the western branch of the Suez Canal at Great Bitter Lake, Deversoir Reach and Kabret Reach, which is a 25 km stretch of the canal. Dredging International will mobilize four cutter suction dredgers and two hopper dredgers and auxiliary equipment while Great Lakes will mobilise its Middle East-based heavy duty, high production cutter suction dredgers Carolina and Ohio, pipelines and auxiliary support equipment. Works were expected to commence before the end of last year, with completion by the end of the third quarter of 2015.
By Larz Bourne
