Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD) held a naming and christening ceremony yesterday at Pier 21 in Galveston, Texas, for the company’s 2nd newest trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Amelia Island.
The TSHD Amelia Island is the sister vessel to the Galveston Island – launched in 2023. The dredgers were designed by C-Job Naval Architects and built by Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, La.
“ Brenda Smith Weber’s designation as the ‘Godmother’ of The Amelia Island added a special touch to the ceremony, and her christening of the state-of-the-art trailing suction hopper dredge was flawless ,” said Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce President, Gina Spagnola , at the ceremony.
“Congressman Randy Weber, Rodger Rees and Mike Fossum spoke about the importance of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and complimented their outstanding contributions and importance of their remarkable work.”
The dredger is approximately 346 feet in length, 69 feet in breadth, 23 feet in depth with 16,500 total horsepower installed.
Also, the TSHD features two 800mm trailing suction pipes capable of dredging depths up to 100 feet with a hopper capacity of 6,330 yd³. The main engines and generators are EPA Tier IV rated for low emissions.
According to GLDD, the Amelia Island is specially designed for efficient and safe operations along shallow and narrow waters throughout all U.S. coastlines.