Beeman, the most recent addition to the hydrographic survey vessel fleet owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District takes its first trip after its official christening ceremony. [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Chris Gaylord]
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District formally welcomed its latest hydrographic survey vessel, the Beeman, with a dedication and christening ceremony in Newport, Oregon, Jan. 11.
The vessel was constructed by Workskiff Inc. of Sedro-Woolley, Wash., and relies on the yard’s 32-foot Commander model with a Furuno USA navigation system and survey package add-on.
The survey station accommodates two screens with an HD monitor on the helm. Included are ac and DC energy retailers for a 3,000-watt AC pure sine wave inside with mitigating shock seating. The exterior is supplied with a slide and swivel server rack, a galley for decent and recent water, and a black water holding tank. A single beam by means of hull transducer sits on the underside of the craft whereas a common survey mount sits on the gunwale for over-the-side sonar deployment.
The Beeman, whose identify honors the legacy of Ogden Beeman, chief of the Portland District’s Waterways Navigation Branch from 1960-1967, replaces and continues the work of the district’s getting older vessel, the Patterson, which surveyed Oregon’s coastal entrances for 22 years.
The Beeman improves on the know-how of its predecessor and has a shallow draft very best for protected operation in constrained areas and coastal circumstances, permitting the district the absolute best alternative to acquire real-time information in dynamic environments.
“This is a vessel with a critical mission, as dredging and structural operations and maintenance can’t take place without the data it will collect,” mentioned Karla Ellis, the Portland District’s chief of Waterways Maintenance. “It’s always nice to get a new piece of equipment like this, but it’s equally meaningful to know that it also represents a legacy for family and friends, and we’re always honored to be a part of that.”
The USACE Portland District maintains the important navigation channels of the Pacific Northwest by performing upkeep dredging, which ensures channels stay deep sufficient to accommodate the drafts of delivery vessels. The district’s survey vessels gather hydrographic information from river and harbor bottoms to find out the place that dredging is required.
The six survey vessels owned and operated by the district inform the dredging of 244 navigable river miles and 22 ports from Nehalem to Chetco.
