While drone flying in the Atchafalaya River in Morgan City, LA, I encountered a very unusual dredge. Research resulted in some very interesting facts about this type of dredge.
First launched in 1933, The Dredge 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 required.
Dustpan dredges are unique to the Mississippi River and work to maintain a navigable channel for commercial navigation to move unimpeded. The Jadwin has a large suction head with high velocity water jets that loosen the silt and sand materials on the riverbed and pump this material through a floating pipeline and is deposited outside the navigation channel near the riverbank.