The shipbuilding company Seatrium has handed over the “Frederick Paup”, the largest self-propelled trailing suction hopper dredge in the history of the USA, to Manson Construction.
The Jones Act-compliant specialty vessel was built entirely in the USA at the Seatrium shipyard in Brownsville, Texas, and will be deployed from Mobile (Alabama) in the future.
With a length of around 128 m, a width of around 25 m and a hopper capacity of more than 11,468 cubic meters, the “Frederick Paup” sets new standards for the US dredging industry. The dredger is self-propelled, has an installed output of around 25,000 hp, three azimuthing stern drives and two bow thrusters and is designed for highly productive operations.
Seatrium’s scope of services included hull construction, system integration, commissioning and completion of the ship. The shipyard was also responsible for managing a complex supply chain for the numerous technical components.
The “Frederick Paup” is equipped with modern technology such as Dynamic Positioning (DP), integrated power management and comprehensive dredger control systems. Tier 4 diesel-electric drives and an optimized hull shape to improve fuel efficiency ensure reduced emissions.
The vessel is expected to play a key role in the maintenance of shipping lanes, beach nourishment and coastal protection projects, supporting the US Army Corps of Engineers’ goals to reuse around 70% of dredged material by 2030.
The US dredging industry is currently in a more than $3 billion renewal phase, with a focus on increasing fleet capacity and efficiency to meet the growing demands of public and private projects.
In the national security arena, the private dredging industry is responsible for keeping harbors and waterways navigable for U.S. Department of Defense facilities such as the Kings Bay (Georgia) submarine base and Naval Station Norfolk (Virginia).
Seatrium sells its US shipyard to Karpower Valley
The Singaporean shipbuilder Seatrium announced at the end of September that it was selling its AmFELS shipyard in Brownsville, Texas. The facility was sold to Karpower Valley, a Karpowership company, for the equivalent of €42.9 million. Seatrium had already announced at the time that it would complete all ongoing projects at the Texan site. According to the company, this is a “surplus” asset, the sale of which is intended to free up additional funds for future projects.
Despite the sale, the US market remains important for Seatrium. In future, the company intends to focus its presence there on technology and development centers in Houston and a service center in Vicksburg (Mississippi).
The most recent construction projects in Brownsville included the “Frederick Paup” and the “Charybdis”, the first Jones Act installation vessel for offshore wind farms in the USA, which was delivered to Dominion Energy.
The AMFels shipyard in Texas (© Port of Brownsville)
