The Vicksburg District’s Dredge Vessel Jadwin departs for the 2022 Dredging Season

Listen to this article

On May 10, the Dredge Jadwin, with a crew of around 50 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District team members, departed the Vicksburg Harbor for its annual dredging season along the Mississippi River.

Vicksburg District commander, Col. Robert Hilliard, and Vicksburg District Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management, Patricia Hemphill, visited with the some of the crew, Captain Chuck Ashley, chief of the Dredging Unit, Paul Richards, and the chief of the Navigation Section, Andy Hall before the mornings departure. They had a quick breakfast with discussion of the upcoming season and the many challenges of working on the Mississippi River.

(L to R) Vicksburg District commander, Col. Robert Hilliard; The chief of the Navigation Section, Andy Hall; Jadwin Captain Chuck Ashley. (USACE)

The Jadwin is a 274-foot, 2400 horse-powered dustpan type of dredge that is capable of dredging as deep as 68 feet. She has a height of four stories and performs dredging duties on the Mississippi River and its ports along the river from May to December, when conditions allow.

A dustpan type of dredge uses a suction head the width of the vessel and large pumps to move sediment from the navigation channel through a large floating discharge pipe to an area deemed appropriate by a USACE survey crew.

The Jadwin was built by the Marietta Manufacturing Company in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, on the Ohio River. She was launched on October 30, 1933, and named for Lt. General Edgar Jadwin, chief of engineers at the time of the disastrous 1927 Flood. The Jadwin was converted from steam to diesel electric in 1985 and the pilot house, galley and crew quarters were remodeled in 2007.