Posted on May 9, 2022
On Apr. 26, 2022, the Dredge Hurley and crew (currently 37 people total) departed its home port, Ensley Engineer Yard, for the 2022 dredging season. Their mission: To maintain navigable shipping lanes along the western rivers and inland waterways.
“We dredge to maintain these waterways and keep it open for commerce,” Dredge Hurley First Mate Kyle Collins said. “Millions of dollars’ worth of various commodities are transported up and down, and east to west, along these routes, and dredging keeps these lanes open and prevents closures along these trade routes.”
On Apr. 26, the Dredge Hurley and crew (currently 37 people total) departed its home port, Ensley Engineer Yard, for the 2022 dredging season. Their mission: To maintain navigable shipping lanes along the western rivers and inland waterways.
Dredging the river is crucial in many ways as river closures can be detrimental in many different industries.
For example, when there is a ship grounding, it closes the channel and halts all transportation of goods. The grounding may go on for only a few hours, or it can last for much longer, lasting as long as several weeks at a time.
And like Collins explained, “This causes delays in the delivery of various commodities, which affects industries not only within the continental United States, but the world over as well.”
Before heading out for the season, the Hurley spent about four months docked at Ensley Engineer Yard. While home, several of the yard’s technical professionals were hard at work on the dredge to make sure she was fit and ready to take on the 2022 season without any hiccups.
“After about six to eight months of dredging, all that sediment material wears out the equipment from the inside out,” Pirani said. “So, maintenance crews primarily worked on repairing and replacing most of the dustpan and suction side pipes.”
With the Hurley in mint condition, the crew took off for its first stop, which was right here in Memphis, Tennessee. After spending a little over a week at the location known as Redman Bar, the Dredge Hurley will move on to Mason’s Landing just above Rosedale, Mississippi.
After that, “Honestly, there is no way to predict where and when we will go with much certainty this far out,” Dredge Hurley Captain Adrian Pirani said. “Dredging isn’t an in-exact science. It’s dynamic and ever-evolving at best.”
If there’s one (or two, or 20 things) this crew is great at, it includes flexibility and working hard. Also, they don’t just work together, they live together. So, it’s no surprise when they say they’re family, no matter how chaotic things might get.
“Life on the dredge is great,” Steward Andrew “Doc” Williams said. “We are family. We eat, sleep, and work together. And we are the best of the best on the Mississippi River…we dig for safety!”
The Dredge Hurley mission directly impacts many industries. And it isn’t just the Memphis District that benefits from what the Hurley does, the entire world does.
Source: Memphis District
