The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) recently took delivery of a new, fully customized cutter suction dredger.
This piece of equipment, designed and built by DSC Dredge, was christened the Dredge Manteo in a ceremony held April 28, 2016, at the NCDOT State Shipyard in Manns Harbor, North Carolina.
The 154-foot pipeline dredger will work to keep North Carolina’s state-maintained intercostal ferry channels clear, from the Cape Fear River near Wilmington to Currituck Sound near the North Carolina-Virginia state line.
It will also maintain an emergency route between Stumpy Point and Rodanthe, south of Nags Head – the route used when North Carolina Highway 12 is out of service due to a storm or other event.
“ The state of North Carolina anticipates that its ferry routes will see more and more use. It was imperative that the DOT has a more modern dredge that is capable of dredging more material more quickly than its predecessor ,” said DSC Director of Sales Charles Johnson.
The Manteo – built to house two eight-person crews, with a full galley, four bunk rooms and two full bathrooms – will replace the Dredge Carolina, which was built in 1968.
The dredger also features a 78-foot deckhouse that contains the machinery area, crew quarters and galley.
Far more efficient than its predecessor, the 16” x 14” Manteo is capable of dredging a channel to a depth of 30 feet.
Spud carriages, which the original dredger did not have, easily move the vessel as it works. At the outset of the engineering work, DSC’s designers made several recommendations to improve performance that NCDOT agreed upon.
“ We increased the horsepower of the engine and we increased the diameter of the impeller. This allows it to effectively move more material over a 1.5-mile distance to the discharge point ,” noted Johnson.
Additional custom features designed to make the dredger more efficient include a GPD dredging system, an anemometer, fire and flooding alarm system, VHF radio, loud hailer and marine intercom system and a closed-circuit television system.
The custom-designed lever room has tinted shades for vision protection and heat reduction. It is equipped with automation, including sensors to measure the amount of material dredged, and Hypac 3D imaging software to map the bottom of the waterway for more precise dredging.
Data gathering and storing capabilities provide real-time reports for operations and maintenance.
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