‘Dredging Your Docks’ Attracts Record Attendance
Every autumn, Chris Ransome & Associates and Orion Marine Group, USA, sponsor an annual seminar to raise awareness for dredging in waterways such as the Houston Ship Channel. With more marine construction underway and new docks coming online in Texas, the private industry of the region now faces many challenges, such as the availability of upland placement of dredged material. On 5 November 2014, around 180 terminal operators, civil engineers, shipping agents, port authorities and federal officials gathered to learn more about these obstacles as well as other dredging topics such as permitting, sediment testing and beneficial use.
The key message of this year's event was to plan early. A planning process that used to be three to five months has evolved into a one year or longer stage in order to fulfill all regulatory, administrative and technical requirements such as the permits, licences and sediment testing.
The importance of the ‘dredging your docks’ theme has influenced the maritime community. Steve Nerheim, Director of Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) for the Coast Guard Houston/Galveston Sector, reported that there were no vessel groundings at berths this year, which is a significant milestone considering the Houston Ship Channel just celebrated its one hundredth year anniversary since opening in 1914. Robert Baker, Marine Superintendent for ExxonMobil in Baytown, said the event is informative and successful because all the right people are in the same room.
Continued Development
With the support of the Galveston District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Port of Houston, Houston Pilots and U.S. Coast Guard, the general coordination and participation of the event has been very positive over the years, with the highest effort forward to continue to help shape the Houston Ship Channel to be the transportation and commerce dynamo that it is. However, the overall goal is to reach out to the other state-wide ports that connect and exchange with Houston, such as Texas City, Galveston, Freeport, Calhoun County and Corpus Christi because siltation and sedimentation problems affect them just as much as anywhere else, was the opinion of Mark Coyle, vice president of Business Development for Orion Marine Group.
The seminar presentations are available online.
The annual seminar itself, which started back in 2002, is a platform for industry to network and engage with the various agencies. The event has received such strong feedback that it is now held now held every other year in the Beaumont/Pt. Arthur/Sabine area. Chris Ransome, president of CRA, Inc., thinks that expanding the meeting to Southeast Texas is very valuable since that area is also very busy and will continue to grow with the upcoming widening project of the Sabine-Neches Waterway. Attendees of the conference received lunch and certificates were made available to professional engineers needing continuing education credits.
More information about the Dredging Your Docks conference is available from Laci Theriot at [email protected].
