Weeks Marine Orders New Dredger from Eastern Shipbuilding

Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. is pleased to announce that on, April 16, 2020, Weeks Marine, Inc. (WMI) and Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. (ESG) signed a contract to construct a sister ship to the MAGDALEN, a Lloyds Register 356’ Twin Screw Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge. The new vessel will be constructed at Eastern’s Allanton Shipyard Panama City, Florida, resulting in hundreds of additional skilled jobs over the next year. This second Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge project for Weeks Marine, reflects Eastern’s commitment to building complex dredge vessels for the US Jones Act maritime industry, and secures its long history of being a successful diversified U.S. Shipbuilder.                                                                                     

The R.B.WEEKS, (ESG Hull 258) is named in honor of Richard B. Weeks,  a co-founder of Weeks Marine and married to Magdalen Weeks, the namesake of the sister vessel MAGDALEN (ESG 256), also built by Eastern and delivered in December 2017. This new Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge is scheduled for delivery early 2023.

The Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge features the following characteristics:

Vessel Name:                                    R.B. WEEKS

ESG Hull#:                                          258

Dimensions (Overall):                      356’ x 79’-6”’x 27’-3”

Designer:                                            Royal IHC

Main Engines:                                   (2) GE 16V250 MDC IMOIII/EPA Tier 4

Main Propulsion:                              (2) Wartsila CPP in Nozzles

Main Gears:                                       (2) Siemens (Flender)

Bow Thruster:                                   (1) AC 730kW VFD Fixed Pitch Tunnel Unit

Main Shaft Generators:                   (2) x 3400ekW

Auxiliary Generator:                         (1) GE 6L250 MDC (1423ekW) IMOIII/EPA Tier 4

Emergency Generator:                    (1) Caterpillar C18 (430ekW) IMOII/EPA Tier 3

Classification:                                    Lloyd’s Register, X100A1 Hopper Dredger, XLMC, UMS

Flag & Regulatory:                            USA, USCG

Hopper Capacity:                              8,550 yd³ (6540m3)

Accommodations:                            26 Person

Eastern is proud to be part of the Weeks Marine, Inc’s. Team, building another dredge vessel, investing in the maritime future of America, and constructing this state-of-the-art “Jones Act” vessel to meet our Country’s growing needs.