Cutter Suction Dredge Modified For Work On Tenn-Tom Waterway

Bean Dredging Corporation, New Orleans, La., has completed modifications to the Dredge "32" (shown above), in preparation for its move to a worksite near Columbus, Miss, on the Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway project.

The modification, which was done at the company's France Road shipyard, will enable the dredge to pass beneath a low bridge on the Tombigbee River near Columbus. The dredge will have a 17-foot clearance.

The "32" is a 27-inch hydraulic cutterhead suction dredge which will move about 10-million cubic yards during the one-year, $15.5-million project.

The dredge's wheelhouse was removed and refurbished to conform to 1981 standards.

The crew accommodations were constructed in modern, soundproof, portable quarters which will increase the crew's comfort, since noise and vibration of engines and pumps will be minimized.

Other modifications include removing the "A" frames or gantries which lift the cutter ladder on the bow and the spud poles on the aft end. The "A" frames will be restored once the dredge is in position at the site where the "32" will be connected to an idler or spud barge. The spud barge is equipped with a tracking spud pole arrangement, which is moved hydraulically over a distance of about 17 feet.

The pumping horsepower of the "32" has been increased by about 1,000 hp through the addition of a pump supplied by Mobile Pulley, and the dredge's digging capacity was increased almost 50 percent by stepping up the cutter power from 800 hp to 1,200 hp.

Other stories from October 1981 issue

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Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.