Posted on October 24, 2025
Houston-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD) held a naming ceremony and christening October 23 at Pier 21 in Galveston, Texas, for the company’s 2nd newest trailing suction hopper dredge, the “Amelia Island”. The event was well attended by GLDD employees, vendors and guests. Special guests and GLDD Leadership attending the naming ceremony include (L to R in pic below) Lawrence Dickerson-Chairman of the Board GLDD, Brenda Weber, (who did the christening honors), wife of Congressman Randy Weber (R-Tx), Lasse Petterson-CEO & President GLDD, Chris Gunsten-SVP Project Service & Fleet Engineering GLDD, Rodger Rees- Port Dir. & CEO Galveston Wharves at Port of Galveston, Col. Michale Fossum-VP & COO-Texas A&M University at Galveston and Joe Sabela- VP of Seafarers.
The Amelia Island is the sister vessel to the “Galveston Island”, which was launched in 2023. The hoppers were designed by C-Job Naval Architects and built by Conrad Shipyard in Morgan City, La. Like the “Galveston Island”, the “Amelia Island” is a 6,500 cu.yd TSHD with an overall length of 346 ft(105m), beam of 69′(21m), draft of 20′(6.1m), two 31.5″(0.80m) suction pipes for dredging depths up to 100′ (30m) and a total horsepower of 16,500. This is GLDD’ sixth hopper dredge and is a significant milestone in their newbuild dredging program which is now complete, which leaves GLDD with the largest and most advanced hopper fleet in the U.S. Both hoppers are well suited for diverse operations such as coastal protection, beach renourishment, channel deepening and maintenance dredging. The “Amelia Island” already has pumped over one million cu. yds of material at two projects, Freeport, Tx. and Captiva Island, Fl. She will start after the ceremony a project in Galveston that involves beach restoration. The “Amelia Island” is booked through 2026
