Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) held the keel laying ceremony for new medium-class hopper dredger Donnelly at its Allanton shipyard last month.
For this project, ESG has teamed with Royal IHC , a world-renowned designer and builder of dredging vessels and equipment. The Dutch company designed this tailor-made diesel-electric hopper dredger to precisely meet USACE requirements.
Vessel specifications:
“ The new hopper dredger will enter the USACE’s Ready Reserve Fleet and will play a critical role in the Corps’ navigation mission and provide for safe, reliable, effective, and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation systems for vital national security, commerce, and recreation needs, ” the Army Corps said.
The new vessel will replace the 57-year-old Dredge McFarland based in the Corps’ Philadelphia District.
The Dredge McFarland is one of four oceangoing hopper dredges owned and operated by USACE.