Oregon’s State Dredge Laura Completes Garibaldi Dredging

The Port of Coos Bay crew has successfully completed dredging of the Port of Garibaldi, removing 32,000 cubic yards of dredge material with Oregon’s state dredge, the Laura.

This is the second dredge project for the four-man crew of the state-owned vessel Laura. The total project cost was around $500,000 for both dredging and obtaining the permit.

The Port of Garibaldi is the only seaport in Tillamook county located between the Port of Astoria and the Port of Newport. It is home to a very active marina with over 270 slips that are always filled. Due to the close proximity to Portland and surrounding areas, there is high demand from recreational fishermen for moorage slips.

The last dredging done at the Port of Garibaldi was 10 years ago in 2007, therefore, there was a big need for the dredging in the port.

According to the Port of Coos Bay, the four-man team restored the authorized depth of 12 feet within Port of Garibaldi’s boat basin.

“Due to the location and current patterns at the Port of Garibaldi, our crew dredged on the outgoing tide so that all the dredge material flows out into the channel,” the port said. “During dredging, one person was operating the dredge, another person was monitoring the fuel boat “Ms. Soco” and the other two were managing the pipe on the workboat.”

In the future, the Port of Garibaldi is planning to look at ways that will reduce the amount of sediment deposited into the boat basin. Currently, their boat basin is being fed by five rivers, with one right above the boat basin. Therefore, to reduce the need and frequency of dredging, the port is looking at redirecting that sediment out into the channel.