Corps of Engineers Dredge - Wheeler

Greetings From New Orleans ,
Hello One & All , Just thought I'd post a few pictures of the Corps of Engineers , Dredge , Wheeler . What makes this dredge somewhat unusual is the fact that to the best of my knowledge , it is the only Self-Propelled , Self-Contained , Hopper dredge that operates on the Mississippi River system . When not in service she is moored at the corp's main office and fleet , in New Orleans , just above Six Mile Point . When I took these shots , the Wheeler was North Bound , below College Point and was in the process of scouring out the Belmont Crossing . The Wheeler dredges , while she is underway and then stores the spoil and then dumps the spoil once its hopper container is full . Also , if you look closely in the first picture , you can see that the Wheeler has a starb'd list due to the additional weight from the collected spoil . So in essence , the Wheeler can dredge in one area and then dump or deposit the same spoil in another area . Therefore , because of this rather unique feature , the Wheeler is used primarily in the rivers Southwest Pass area , due to the fact that Southwest Pass is rather narrow and there is no adequate and close location to dump spoil . Also , in both pictures you can see just above the waterline on the bow of the dredge a white circle with a design in it . This is the symbol for the presence of a Bow Thruster , which allows the Wheeler to " round up " or maneuver when in close quarters . Hope you enjoy the shots .
Smoothe Sailing !
Ted Davisson