Manson Orders Largest Ever U.S. Hopper Dredge From Keppel AmFELS

Manson Construction Co. has contracted with Keppel AmFELS to build the hopper dredge FREDERICK PAUP at their facility in Brownsville, TX. The 15,000 cubic yard hopper dredge — designed in collaboration with Hockema Whalen Myers Associates, Inc. of Seattle, WA — has a length of 420-ft, breadth of 81-ft and draft of 28.5-ft. The dredge is slated to be fully operational come spring 2023. A US Bank-led syndication is providing financing.

“We are pleased to be partnering with Keppel AmFELS, due to their impressive vessel construction capabilities. Their 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.

“This dredge is the culmination of years of work by our dedicated team and I am honored to bear its name,” remarked the dredge’s namesake, Manson’s chairman of the board, Frederick Paup. “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.”

Mohamed Sahlan Bin Salleh, president of Keppel AmFELS said, “We are pleased to be selected by Manson Construction Co. to build the largest U.S hopper dredger. 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 US. 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 (HWMA), offered this statement: “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.”