Posted on March 1, 2026
By DredgeWire
The Dredging Contractors of America (DCA) has advised the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in a recent formal memo that water depth will not be a limiting factor for potential minerals development on Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf.
In comments submitted in response to BOEM’s Request for Information, DCA noted that most areas of the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering shelves range from roughly 30 to 500 feet deep—well within the operating range of existing U.S.-flag dredging and marine construction equipment.
According to the group, these shallow continental shelf conditions allow the use of established technologies such as cutter suction dredges, hopper dredges, mechanical excavation systems, and bottom-supported platforms. Alaska’s offshore environment, from a depth standpoint, more closely resembles the U.S. Gulf of Mexico shelf or the North Sea than deepwater regions that require specialized floating production systems.
DCA emphasized that U.S. dredging companies have decades of experience working in Alaska, supporting navigation channels, ports, and marine infrastructure under challenging conditions.
The organization said the depth profile creates an opportunity for strong domestic participation, allowing future OCS minerals activity to rely on U.S. vessels, shipyards, equipment suppliers, and workforce capacity.
DCA concluded that water depth should be viewed as an enabling condition that supports both operational feasibility and domestic supply chain objectives.
Here’s the DCA memo
