Delaware’s Tinicum and Marcus Dredging About to Begin

The Great Lakes Dock and Dredge Company will be mobilizing and commencing dredging operations between the Tinicum Range and Marcus Range in the Delaware River from 28 July 2016, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, 5th District.

The dredgers New York and Texas and vessels Bering Dawn, Elizabeth, Kathryn, Brangas, Pelican State will be on site conducting operations through 15 March 2017.

The drill barge Apache will mobilize to the site 13 November 2016 and begin blasting operations on 1 December 2016.

Blasting operations will occur 7 days a week once commenced and will continue through 15 March 2017, the notice said.

Associated support equipment will be a tender tug and smaller security vessels.

Other activities on the project will include hydrographic survey operations, sturgeon monitoring and sturgeon trawling.

About the project

This development scheme involves dredging as needed within the existing 40-foot Delaware River federal navigation channel to deepen it to 45 feet from Philadelphia Harbor, Pa. and Beckett Street Terminal, Camden, N.J. along a 102.5-mile distance to deepwater in the Delaware Bay.

The deeper channel will provide for more efficient transportation of containerized, dry bulk and liquid bulk (crude oil and petroleum products) cargo to and from the Delaware River ports, with estimated net annualized benefits of more than $13 million to the U.S. economy.

Under a Project Partnership Agreement signed in 2008, the total cost of initial construction, approximately $300 million, is shared 35 percent by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority as the non-federal sponsor, and 65 percent by the federal government through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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