SOUTHPORT, N.C. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District recently completed annual maintenance dredging at Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point (MOTSU), removing hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of sediment to ensure the installation's federally authorized navigation channels remain open and operational.
The $6.3 million project is a critical component of the Corps' navigation mission and supports the installation's ability to safely receive and deploy vessels in support of national defense.
"MOTSU is an ocean terminal, so the waterways must be deep enough for vessels to maintain missions," said Clare Williams, navigation project manager with the Wilmington District. "If the vessels can't make it in, the mission is compromised."
The annual project removes naturally accumulated sediment from MOTSU's federal waterways and restores channels to their authorized depths. In a typical year, approximately 500,000 to 600,000 cubic yards of material are dredged and transported to the Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site, an offshore placement area designated for dredged material.
A portion of this year's dredging was completed by a small subcontractor in March, while the remaining work was performed by Curtin Maritime between May 19 and June 13.
Curtin Maritime utilized the DB Catalina to complete the work. The vessel is the largest mechanical dredge in the Western Hemisphere and is capable of achieving high daily production rates while operating in the constrained environment surrounding the installation.
Although Curtin Maritime also operates the DB Avalon, a hybrid dredge featuring battery-assisted technology, the Avalon remained in the Baltimore District to complete work there. The Catalina, however, still offers significant environmental advantages.
"The Catalina's emissions are about one-tenth of a typical dredge, which is impressive for its size," Williams said.
Beyond emissions, the Wilmington District prefers mechanical dredges for operations near MOTSU because they generally pose a lower risk to marine life than cutterhead or hopper dredges.
"Typically, a bucket dredge has fewer 'takes' each year," Williams said. "Cutterhead and hopper dredges pose a higher risk to marine life, so we prefer not to use them near MOTSU."
Mechanical dredges also require less pipeline infrastructure to operate, reducing interference with vessel traffic and helping ensure installation operations continue uninterrupted throughout the project.
That uninterrupted access is one of the project's greatest challenges.
"If a vessel is coming, under orders or leaving, the dredge must stay out of the way," Williams said. "That requires heightened coordination between the contractor, the Corps and the customer."
The project must also be carefully coordinated around environmental restrictions. MOTSU provides habitat for several protected species, including sturgeon that nest and breed in the area.
Officials say dredging schedules are planned with those environmental considerations in mind, balancing the need to maintain critical navigation infrastructure while protecting sensitive ecological resources.
"MOTSU supports and protects a number of critically endangered species, and we will continue to support that part of the mission as well," Williams said.
While much of the public never sees the dredging taking place, officials say the work remains an essential part of maintaining the nation's waterways and supporting a critical component of national defense.
Each bucket of sediment removed helps ensure vessels can safely navigate to and from MOTSU — keeping the channels open, the mission moving and the nation ready.
| Date Taken: |
06.18.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
06.22.2026 14:50 |
| Story ID: |
568333 |
| Location: |
SOUTHPORT, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
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12 |
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0 |
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