Salem River dredging wraps up

The Dredge Murden, owned and operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Wilmington District, completed dredging operations on the Salem River last week.

“The sediment was placed in the nearshore area off Oakwood Beach in Salem County, NJ to support our federal and state beachfill project,” USACE said.

The Murden is 156 feet long with a 35-foot beam and 11-foot depth, and can conduct dredging operations in waters as shallow as 5 feet. 

Drag heads on either side of the vessel lift sand into the hopper bin between the two hulls.

When the hopper bin reaches capacity, it opens from the bottom and deposits the material. The drag heads can move up to 12 cubic yards of material per minute.