CalPortland's Santosh aggregate site at Scappoose, Oregon has welcomed the delivery of a new Marlin class cutter suction dredger (CSD).
Built to replace a 35-year-old Marion dragline, the non-self-propelled and transportable CSD was named Betsy J in honour of Oregon Senator Betsy Johnson.
The 85.3-metre dredge with 15.8-metre beam allows the company to keep up with demand for concrete, asphalt and construction aggregates in the Portland and Vancouver markets.
Equipped with hydraulic winches on the deck that move the dredge forward, backward and to either side, the CSD is designed to extract material from the aggregate deposit and transport it to land using a system of suction pipes and hydraulic pumps.
Powered by electricity, Betsy J will access 60 per cent more additional reserves than the dragline operation at a higher production rate. She can move material up to 30 centimetres in diameter at the rate of six metres per second.
She includes a cylindrical ladder design due to her size.