Manson Construction Co. announces contract to build largest U.S. hopper dredge

Seattle-based Manson Construction Co. announced the execution of a contract for the construction of a 15,000 cubic yard hopper dredge with Keppel AmFELS. Designed in collaboration with Hockema Whalen Myers Associates (HWMA), the Frederick Paup will be built at Keppel AmFELS’ facility in Brownsville, Texas and is slated to be fully operational in Spring 2023.

“This is an exciting time in the U.S. dredging industry,” said Mark Sickles, Interim CEO and Executive Director of the Dredging Contractors of America. “Here is another new investment in an American shipyard and in our vibrant and growing industry. On behalf of our member companies, I congratulate Manson Construction Co. on this wonderful news.”

The Frederick Paup will have a length of 420 ft., a breadth of 81 ft., and a draft of 28.5 ft. It will be the fourth U.S. hopper dredge to be formally announced or deployed since 2018.

“We are pleased to be partnering with Keppel AmFELS due to its impressive vessel construction capabilities. Its value proposition is strengthened by our shared focus on safety,” said John Holmes, Manson Construction Co. President. “Once complete, the self-propelled hopper dredge ‘Frederick Paup’ will be the largest in the United States, representing Manson’s single biggest investment in its 115-year history.”

Since 1905 Manson Construction Co. has contributed to the building and maintenance of North America’s marine infrastructure and waterways. The company constructs jetties, wharves, bridges and outfalls; performs hopper, clamshell and pipeline dredging; and provides offshore operations. Manson currently has more than 800 employees across North America.

“This dredge is the culmination of years of work by our dedicated team, and I am honored to bear its name,” remarked Frederick Paup, Manson’s Chairman of the Board. “We are proud that it will be U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged, and U.S.-crewed, and will support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ mission of keeping the marine transportation highway open throughout the United States.” 

Keppel AmFELS has built up its facilities and capabilities since 1990 to become the most well-equipped shipyard in the Gulf of Mexico. It has extensive expertise and a strong track record in the construction, refurbishment, conversion, life extension, and repair of a complete range of mobile drilling rigs, platforms, and ships. Backed by a highly skilled workforce and state-of-the-art facilities, Keppel AmFELS is well positioned to service the oil, gas, renewable energy, transport and industrial sectors, as well as the Jones Act market.

Mohamed Sahlan Bin Salleh, President of Keppel AmFELS, commented, “We are pleased to be selected by Manson Construction Co. to build the largest U.S. hopper dredge. It is a testament to the capabilities of our shipyard to build a wide variety of vessels for the Jones Act market. This project will be supported by our highly skilled local workforce and suppliers across the U.S. This is our first newbuild project with Manson, and we look forward to supporting them as they grow their fleet of vessels.” 

Hal Hockema, President of Hockema Whalen Myers Associates, stated, “HWMA congratulates Manson Construction Co. and Keppel AmFELS on commencing this major hopper dredge project. We are gratified that Manson chose HWMA to design the ‘Frederick Paup’ in conjunction with Manson’s internal engineering and operations groups. Our longstanding relationship with Manson covers more than two decades of successful hopper dredge design and other engineering work. Complex projects like this provide an opportunity to offer our superior engineering and client relations capabilities. I also want to personally thank our design team at HWMA, and especially our project managers, Craig Pomeroy and Michael Minnig, for their fine work in developing this design. Our focus at HWMA is to ensure that the ‘Frederick Paup’ will be a major force in the dredging market for decades to come.”