The Lone Star Harbor Safety Committee (LSHSC)’s Dredging and Marine Construction Subcommittee met at Port Houston’s Executive Building for their final meeting of 2016. The group is chaired by Port Houston Project Manager David Casebeer, who reported that the dredging of the Bayport Channel is scheduled to be completed in late December. Orion Marine Group is the dredging contractor on the project.

Casebeer added that the Corps of Engineers feasibility study is well underway, while U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Houston Project Manager Tricia Campbell provided an update on ongoing and upcoming federal dredging projects, including Sims Bayou to the Port of Houston Turning Basin.

Attendees discussed starting a working group that will be tasked with developing recommendations for terminal operators on how to communicate predictable depths at their docks to vessel captains and pilots in an effort to avoid future ship groundings in the Houston Port region.

“There are existing practices that may serve as a model for all terminals on how to monitor and share the depths at their docks. It is rewarding to work with my peers through this committee to make the Houston Ship Channel a safer waterway,” said Casebeer.

One of the missions of the Dredging and Marine Construction Subcommittee is outreach to educate all facility operators on the importance of maintaining adequate depth alongside their berths.