Posted on January 18, 2026
On March 20, 2025, The Dutra Group announced the issuance of a notice to proceed on the construction of a new cubic yard trailing suction hopper dredge. Christened the Adele, in honor of founder and executive chairman Bill Dutra’s mother, the Royal-IHC designed Beagle® is being constructed at Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s Allanton and Port St. Joe facilities in Florida.
Upon delivery, the Adele will join The Dutra Group’s 9,870 cubic yard Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge Stuyvesant in serving the United States’ essential waterways. The collaboration between The Dutra Group, Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc., and Royal IHC reflects a blend of expertise and innovation. Eastern‘s building experience in high-specification dredges in the U.S. complements Royal IHC’s advanced design capabilities, state-of-the-art dredging equipment, automation, and environmental awareness.
“This state-of-the art, technically efficient new build vessel is designed to meet our nation’s maritime infrastructure needs, now and in the future, as the low-cost provider of dredging services, including channel deepening, maintenance dredging, beach nourishment and coastal restoration projects,” said Harry K. Stewart, President and CEO at The Dutra Group. “America’s military and consumers depend on our ability to keep our U.S. waterways open and safe.”
The IHC Beagle® Mk2 is a twin-screw trailing suction hopper dredge with a maximum hopper capacity of 10,464 yd³. The hopper’s V-shaped cross section and single row of bottom doors are designed for efficient offloading of dredged material. The design also incorporates a bow connection for high-efficiency material pump-off to service the shoreline and wetland material placement market. The hull shape is optimized with a bulbous bow to reduce drag and improve fuel efficiency.
Dutra’s announcement of the new hopper dredge is complimented by another substantial first: a historic contract between a joint venture of The Dutra Group and Griffith Company with International Transportation Service (ITS) to build the Pier G South Slip Fill, New Wharf at Berth 234, and Backland Development Project at the Port of Long Beach, California.
The contract marks the largest dollar amount that The Dutra Group has been commissioned for, setting a new high-water mark for Dutra’s scope of project.
In support of the project’s sustainability requirements, all dredging work will be powered by shore based electric power. To meet this need, the Dutra Group acquired a fully electrified 8300 Liebherr Crane. This exciting acquisition to Dutra’s fleet reinforces our commitment to supporting different California Ports’ aim to produce zero-emissions objectives.
Currently, The Dutra Group’s dredging department continues the deepening of Long Beach’s Pier J with several weeks of digging ahead. Coordinating around vessel traffic at the Port of Long Beach necessitates constant communication and strategy. It is, after all, part of the largest port facility in the western hemisphere.
Shortly thereafter, The Dutra Group issued another announcement: the acquisition of Hanford ARC, a general engineering and land management contractor specializing in wetland mitigation and restoration projects, with an impressive track record of stream construction, soil bioengineering, revegetation, park construction, and erosion control projects.
This expansion into ecological restoration extends the scope of Dutra’s delta and earthworks divisions to the quickly growing market within the Golden State and beyond. As public agencies ramp up their efforts to reconstitute degraded and disappearing ecosystems, the momentum for projects that rejuvenate natural systems capable of providing important civil and environmental functions is expected to remain strong.
The projected build timeline for the Adele anticipates the culmination of sea-trials in 2028. Between now and then, Dutra’s equipment department will continue to oversee the building process, serving as a touchstone between shipyard progress and The Dutra Group operations and estimating departments.
Progress on the Adele build continues to make headway with the first keel plates cut and laid. Dutra’s equipment division coordinates weekly with the shipbuilding team and designers to assure an on-time and high-quality finished ship.
The new hopper dredge’s design introduces Dutra to a world of new possibilities, including new markets across the country. As sea levels rise and coastal storms increase in frequency and power, the need for robust beaches extends beyond the economic and recreational benefits to an existential aspect of coastal resilience. The Dutra Group is eager to provide solutions to the escalating dangers of coastal land loss for coastal communities across the USA.
With their heavy civil season not yet started in earnest, Hanford’s operations are currently focused on estimating and creating a 2026 seasonal backlog, while focusing on refining their workflows and systems.
In late summer of 2025, Dutra began work at Cal Poly Maritime on a new pier designed to accommodate the academy’s anticipated training ship, the Golden State. Officially titled the Boat Basin and Pier Extension Project, this project represents one of Dutra’s first large-scale Design-Build contracts. Dutra is serving as one of the key architects on the project, alongside GHD. Early contractor involvement throughout the design of the project helped prevent delays to the project schedule, decrease the cost of the project, and lower the overall risk to the owner. As of July 1, 2025, Cal Poly merged its administration with CSU Maritime into a single academic administration, with plans to complete the merger one year later. Cal Poly Maritime Academy remains one of seven degree-granting maritime academies in the United States and the only one on the West Coast. Work is set to continue at Cal Poly Maritime through 2026.
