WEDA Fall 2019 Conference Begins in Galveston

Western Dredging Association (WEDA) Gulf Coast Chapter 2019 Conference kicked off yesterday in San Luis Resort, Spa & Conference Center in Galveston, Texas.

Dredging is vital to the Texas coast and ports, and as a Galveston based dredging company, Callan Marine is excited to welcome all the participants and sponsors to this important annual dredging event.

The conference will provide a forum for the exchange of information of interest to the dredging industry and its associates.

The U.S. dredging industry remains highly competitive and efficient with more than 50 different companies owning more than 400 dredges that all are U.S.-crewed, U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and ready to respond to the upcoming new investments in Texas coastal infrastructure.

Recently, as stated by the Dredging Contractors of America, the private sector U.S. hopper dredge fleet capacity increased 34% with the addition of two large hopper dredges by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock and Weeks Marine. Industry continues to spend billions of dollars recapitalizing its operations all across the nation.

This year, Galveston-based Callan Marine will deliver a massive cutter suction dredge, RLB Contracting built a cutter suction dredge in Port Lavaca, Weeks Marine delivered a large cutter suction dredge in Louisiana, and The Dutra Group launched a large hydraulic scow.

The Army Corps applauds the dredging industry’s swift action post-Hurricane Harvey for returning 28 Texas navigation projects to their authorized widths and depths and fully functional.

Importantly, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company and Callan Marine have successfully completed the FEMA funded and USACE managed dredging of the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and Lake Houston in order to increase capacity in the Lake Houston Watershed and reduce flooding.

The industry is also heavily invested in dredging Galveston and Houston Ship Channels. At Callan Marine, the company just completed the annual Galveston wharves and maintenance dredging projects.

During Tropical Storm Imelda, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers recognized the industry’s ability to keep working on the coastal renourishment of Galveston Beach through the storm.