Dredge Jadwin Departs Vicksburg

The Dredge Jadwin, with a crew of about 50 Vicksburg Engineer District team members, left Vicksburg Harbor May 10 for its annual dredging season along the Mississippi River. Vicksburg Engineer District commander Col. Robert Hilliard Patricia Hemphill, deputy district engineer for programs and project management, shared breakfast and visited with the some of the crew before the morning departure.

The Jadwin is a 274-foot, 2,400 hp. dustpan dredge capable of dredging as deep as 68 feet. Dustpan dredges use a suction head the width of the vessel and large pumps to move sediment from the navigation channel through a large, floating discharge pipe.

The Jadwin dredges from May to December along the Mississippi River and its ports, as conditions allow. 

The Jadwin was built by the Marietta Manufacturing Company in Point Pleasant, W.Va., and launched on October 30, 1933. The Jadwin is named for Lt. General Edgar Jadwin, chief of engineers at the time of the disastrous 1927 flood. The Jadwin was converted from steam to diesel electric in 1985 and the pilothouse, galley and crew quarters were remodeled in 2007.

Caption for photo: The Vicksburg Engineer District Dredge Jadwin left May 10 for the 2022 dredging season on the Mississippi River. (Photo by Bucky Wall/Vicksburg Engineer District)