Posted on March 13, 2024
Callan Marine, a Galveston-based dredging contractor, has been awarded a $136 million contract by the Port of Houston to dredge segment 1C of the Houston Ship Channel Expansion, under the port’s Project 11 program.
Callan will use its newly named 32-inch cutter suction dredger, General Arnold, one of the newest, largest and most environmentally friendly cutter suction dredgers in the U.S. fleet for this venture. It features four EPA Tier 4 engines that develop a combined output of 24,000 horsepower and use exhaust gas recirculation technology to reduce emissions to below Tier 4 levels.
The award to Callan Marine marks the final Port Houston Project 11 dredging contract, and their work will complete the reach of the channel through Galveston Bay, underscoring the commission’s dedication to developing strategic infrastructure to improve the channel security and efficiency. The remaining segments of Project 11 will be carried out by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Curtin Maritime Corp., based in Long Beach, California, recently completed its dredging operations in the channel and, as a result, following acceptance by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the relocation of Aids to Navigation ( ATON), daylight restrictions are expected to be lifted along an additional 3 1/2 miles of its range. This means that approximately 30 minutes of additional transit time should now be available for deep draft vessels on the country’s busiest waterway.
Curtin used its Avalon Tier 4 clamshell dredge to dredge approximately 5 million cubic yards of material, some of which was used to create 260 acres of oyster mitigation improvements between the San Leon and Dollar Reef sites.
