Dare County, in partnership with EJE Dredging Service, has announced that Miss Katie – the shallow-draft hopper dredge that has been under construction in Morgan City, Louisiana, since March 2021 – has officially arrived on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Miss Katie departed from Conrad Shipyard in Louisiana on the morning of Saturday, August 13, 2022, and on the afternoon of of Friday, August 19, 2022, she arrived in Wanchese, which will serve as the dredge’s homeport.
“The completion of Miss Katie and her long-awaited arrival here on the Outer Banks is a historic moment and will be a game-changer for watermen in Dare County,” said Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard.
“Commercial and recreational fishing are not just enormous economic drivers in our community; they’ve also been a way of life for thousands of folks here in Dare County for generations. It’s absolutely critical that we have the resources in place to properly dredge our channels and inlets that these watermen depend on as their highway to get to work every day – and thanks to the county’s partnership with EJE Dredging and the arrival of Miss Katie, we’ll be much better equipped to do just that.”