New Company Signs Contract To Build 24-Inch Dredge
On October 12, Michael Kerns, president and CEO of Muddy Water Dredging LP, and Bob Wetta, president and CEO of DSC Dredge LLC, announced the launch of a project to build a custom 24-inch dual pump Marlin Class dredge—one of the largest of its kind in the United States—to maintain U.S. navigable waterways. The custom 24-inch diesel-electric design, with a total installed horsepower of 9,621 hp. and delivering 6,830 kW of electrical power, is expected to be completed in October 2023.
Muddy Water Dredging LP was established in this year with corporate headquarters located in Orange, Texas. Co-owners Michael J. Kerns and Matthew B. Devall bring more than 40 years of experience in the dredging and maritime transportation industry. Devall is well-known in the dredging industry, having served as chief financial officer of Devall Towing & Boat Service of Hackberry LLC from 2010 through July 2021. Before that, he was a corporate controller for Edison Chouest Offshore. Kerns has almost 20 years’ experience in the dredging industry, having worked at various companies in positions ranging from dredging superintendent to project manager.
The custom Marlin Class dredge will have an overall length of 371 feet, making it one of the longest 24-inch dredges in the United States with the capability of dredging a 400-foot-wide cut, utilizing an 80-degree swing arc, thus increasing the dredge’s swing/advance efficiency by 5.9 percent. At a duty point of 28,236 gpm. slurry volume, the dredge will have the ability of filling an Olympic-size swimming pool with dredge slurry in 23 minutes and can completely fill an area the size of the New Orleans Superdome in only 23 days.
Its customization features will include a detachable carriage barge, which allows the dredge to quickly convert from a wide-cut configuration to a shorter conventional dredge configuration for work in areas with limited space. It will also have lay-down carriage barge spuds to facilitate transit under low- clearance structures.
The dredge will be equipped with DSC’s survey-grade DSC Vision package; DSC’s Dredge Rx remote monitoring package; and DSC’s Dredge Quality Management system for automated Corps of Engineers reporting. The dredge will also be fitted with three 12- by 12-foot offices, a 15- by19-foot meeting/break room, restroom facilities and a 20- by 27-foot lever room.
“I am extremely proud to re-enter the U.S. dredging industry as co-owner and president of Muddy Water Dredging, L.P. and fortunate to have an opportunity to incorporate my many years of dredging experience into the design of our new 24-inch cutter-suction dredge,” Kerns said.
“I am extremely grateful to everyone involved for all the hard work over the last few months to make this a reality,” Devall added.
“DSC is extremely excited to partner with Muddy Water Dredging on this new 24-inch dredge build,” said Bob Wetta, president and CEO of DSC Dredge. The specifications and overall design of the dredge will lend itself to the future of efficient dredge designs while still providing a beast of a dredge. Muddy Water Dredging has taken steps to bring a new dredge to the industry that will be designed for high production capacity, the latest in dredging technology and an efficient and practical design. It doesn’t get much better than partnering with clients that share the same vision, and that’s exactly what we have with Muddy Water Dredging. This is going to be fun.”
DSC Dredge designs and manufactures cutter suction dredges, operating from three manufacturing facilities in Reserve, La., Poplarville, Miss., and Greenbush, Miss.
Caption for top photo: Custom-designed 24-inch dual pump Marlin Class dredge will have total installed horsepower of 9,621 hp. (artwork courtesy of DSC Dredge)
