Ultra large container ships and large capesize bulkers plying these routes are locked out of U.S. Consider, too, the recent report finding that in 2018 the Port of Virginia delivered over $39 billion in gross state product and 397,000 jobs to the Commonwealth of Virginia.ĭredging is equally vital to the national economy because the ocean, which covers 70% of the earth in seawater, is the trading route for our planet. To anyone who thinks this is no big deal - the shelves at the store or at your favorite online retailer would be empty if shallow water or a narrow channel blocked ultra large container ships that require draft up to 55’ from making the final 15 nautical mile leg into the Port of Virginia at the end of the 13,843 nautical mile journey along the Atlantic Route from Shanghai, China to Norfolk, Virginia. Waterfront commercial companies cannot get their or their customers’ vessels to the dock unless they can dredge.

Dredging is vital to commercial marine terminals and, by extension, to the economy of Hampton Roads, the economy of Virginia, and the economy of the nation

Harbor dredging definition