Conrad Shipyard LLC announced yesterday that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. has exercised its contract option to build a second 6,500-cu.-yd.-capacity trailing suction hopper dredge.
The dredge will be constructed at the Deepwater South shipyard in Amelia, La., with expected delivery in the first quarter of 2025.
Conrad held a keel laying ceremony last spring for the first 6,500-cu.-yd. trailing suction hopper dredge at its Amelia shipyard. Delivery is scheduled for the first dredge by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Conrad is building the dredges at its Amelia location based on a design provided by Great Lakes’ in-house engineering department in collaboration with C-Job Naval Architects.
After delivery in 2023, the first dredge will join the company’s existing six-dredge hopper fleet, which includes the ATB tug Douglas B. Mackie and 15,000-cu.-yd.-capacity barge Ellis Island, which were delivered in the fourth quarter of 2017.
“The dredge market has always been a key focus for Conrad, and we have extended our design portfolio and increased our product development resources to help meet our customers’ needs across the dredge market product categories," Johnny Conrad, chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the Great Lakes team to safely deliver yet another vessel to serve the U.S. dredging market.”
