Matthews Brothers Puts New Dredge Barge To Work

Pass Christian, Miss.-based Matthews Brothers Dredging recently took delivery of MBI 08, its largest spud dredge barge to date. LAD Services of Louisiana, located near Morgan City, built the walking spud dredge barge, which measures 200 feet by 60 feet. The Shearer Group, headquartered in Houston, designed the barge, which can lift up to 114,000 pounds.

MBI 08 features two 85-foot removable spuds and one winch-operated walking spud, also 85 feet tall. The barge has tankage for 43,800 gallons of fuel and two 24,400-gallon freshwater tanks. On deck, the barge offers a full galley and dining area, office space, bunks, storage and a workshop for extended operations. The vessel carries an oceans loadline certification from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).

To move dredge material, MBI 08 is equipped with a Liebherr HS 8300 HD pedestal crane with a 125-foot-long boom, one of only five such cranes in the Americas.

According to Matthews Brothers Dredging, MBI 08 is already at work, most recently at the Port of Port Arthur.

Matthews Brothers Dredging is part of Matthews Brothers Inc. The company offers specialty dredging, with a focus on reef building, debris removal, marine salvage, crane barge service, marine towing and material handling.

Caption for photo: Walking spud dredge barge was built by LAD Services of Louisiana.