The Currituck operator steers the vessel through the shoal areas of the channel. The Currituck is hinged above the main deck so that the hull can open from bow to stern by means of hydraulic cylinders located in compartments forward and aft of the hopper section. It features a self-propelled split hull and is equipped with a self-leveling deck-house located at the stern, where all controls and machinery are housed. It’s the only special-purpose type of hopper dredge in the United States that works the same projects as larger sidecasting dredges, only on a smaller scale. The Currituck is assigned to the Corps’ Wilmington District in North Carolina. “The highlight of the day was getting to operate the Currituck.” “As a mechanical engineer, it was very cool to see up close how this tremendous crew and piece of machinery works and benefits the communities it serves,” Weber said. Two Corps interns, Michael Weber and Bryan Hakey, spent a day on the Currituck. Army Corps of Engineers managed the maintenance project as part of their overall operations mission to ensure safe transiting of maritime traffic. The Currituck hopper dredge then transported the fine sand, offloading it along the Virginia Beach coastline to replenish the city’s beachfront erosion. The Currituck recently spent three days dredging the federal channel at Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, Va., and removed more than 7,700 cubic yards of shoaling sand. Army Corps of Engineers’ maritime fleet earns its “indispensable” reputation 363 days a year by dredging dangerous shoaling in shallow draft federal channel inlets: hopper dredge Currituck. – From Florida to Maine, one unique vessel in the U.S.
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