Picture of the Day: Dredger McFarland at Work

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, has posted this beautiful photo of their hopper dredger McFarland, working on the Mississippi River.

“Our own dredger McFarland has been busy conducting emergency dredging on the Lower Mississippi River for the past month. The dredger was called upon because high stages are impacting navigation,” USACE said.

One of four oceangoing hopper dredgers owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part  the Corps’ “minimum fleet” for national security and safe navigation, the McFarland is the only dredger in the world with triple capability for direct pumpout, bottom discharge and sidecasting or boom discharge.

Designed by the Corps’ Marine Design Center, it was built in April 1967. Its name honors the late Arthur McFarland, a Corps of Engineers authority on dredging.