Dredging of Ocean City Inlet set for next week

The USACE’s Baltimore District is scheduled to remove approximately 5,000 cubic yards of dredged material from the Ocean City Inlet beginning Thursday, November 20, 2025.

According to USACE, the dredge Murden will begin dredging Priority Area #1, which includes the entrance to Sinapuxent Channel, on Nov. 20 and continue through Nov. 25. The primary goal of this round of dredging is to finish clearing the entrance into West Ocean City Harbor that began earlier this year. 

“We are proud to continue oversight of safe and reliable navigation in the Ocean City region with a new round of dredging operations within the Inlet,” said Baltimore District Commander Col. Francis Pera. “Ensuring local waterways remain accessible to our U.S. Coast Guard partners as well as commercial and recreational users is critical to both safety and economic security.” 

The northern portion of the West Ocean City Harbor was dredged last July using USACE, Wilmington District’s sidecasting dredge Merritt. Nearly 8,000 cubic yards of dredged material was removed from three priority areas within the inlet channel.  

The Murden is expected to complete the clearing of the West Ocean City Harbor entrance shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday.

“If it is not able to complete scheduled operations by Nov. 25, dredging will resume on Nov. 29 and dredging operations will cease once the area is at the appropriate depth and cleared for vessel traffic,” USACE concluded.