Renaming ceremony of the Encore’s dredges

Dredge renaming and christening ceremonies honor the service men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and provide an opportunity to recognize the commitment and hard work of the Encore team.

In the days of ancient mythology, it was widely believed that a Roman king of the sea, Neptune, and a Greek ruler of the sea, Poseidon, lived in palaces. These gods of the sea would assure safe passage over the Seven Seas to all sailors who followed their doctrine and respected their protocols.

Neptune and Poseidon are said to maintain a “Ledger of the Deep” that records the name of every seagoing vessel by name. Changing the name of a boat is said to be disrespectful to the sea gods. According to legend, boaters that fail to undergo a proper boat name christening ceremony will be faced with the wrath of Neptune or Poseidon.

As each dredge in the Encore fleet is brought in for major maintenance and repairs, it is repainted, renamed, and christened. Encore has chosen the names of U.S. Naval Aircraft Carriers to honor the servicemen and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.

The Enterprise, formerly known as the dredge Integrity, was purchased as part of the Inland Dredging acquisition in January 2021. The Enterprise was built in 2001 by Eastern Shipbuilding Group and is a 160-foot hydraulic cutter head dredge. The Enterprise was blessed and renamed on January 24, 2023, in David Lake, Alabama.

The dredge Nimitz, formerly known as the dredge Ingenuity, was built in 1955 by Devcon International Corporation and was the last of Encore’s dredge fleet to be blessed and renamed. The Nimitz is an all-steel, diesel engine powered, 24” cutter head dredge. The renaming ceremony was held on April 4, 2023, in Sargent, Texas.