Manson Wins $13.3 Million Army Dredge Contract for Louisiana Coast
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded the Seattle marine builder a firm-fixed-price deal for a crewed hopper dredge, with work in Venice, Louisiana, due by May 7, 2027.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — Manson Construction Co., a Seattle marine builder dredging U.S. waterways since 1905, won a $13.3 million Army contract to supply a crewed hopper dredge for the Louisiana coast.
The firm-fixed-price award carries a total cumulative face value of $26 million, according to war.gov. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers solicited bids over the internet and received four. Work will be performed in Venice, Louisiana, with an estimated completion date of May 7, 2027.
Manson will furnish one fully crewed and equipped self-propelled trailing suction hopper dredge under the deal. Such vessels vacuum sediment from a channel floor, store it in an onboard hopper, and sail it to a disposal or replenishment site. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, is the contracting activity, and fiscal 2026 operation and maintenance civil funds of $13.3 million were obligated at the time of the award.
The stakes fall on shipping and storm defense at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Venice sits at the last road-accessible point before the Gulf, a staging ground for offshore energy crews and commercial fishing fleets. Silted channels slow deep-draft vessels and raise flood risk, so dredging keeps commerce moving and protects low-lying communities. Manson gains steady federal revenue, while taxpayers fund the maintenance work through the Corps civil budget.
Founded in 1905 as a small pile-driving business on Seattle’s waterfront, Manson has grown into one of the nation’s largest dredging and marine construction firms, according to diversityjobs.com. The company employs roughly 800 people and reports annual revenue near $713 million, according to leadnear.com. Its past projects include dredging work associated with the Panama Canal, according to leadnear.com.
The award marks the first contract recorded for Manson Construction Co.in 2026, establishing the company’s initial benchmark within the Army portfolio. It ranks as the smallest Army contract logged so far this year, against a year-to-date maximum of $99 million. For scale, the deal equals a fraction of the largest 2026 Army award, yet it funds a single specialized vessel rather than a broad program. The contract was one of seven Department of Defense awards issued nationwide on July 13, 2026, and the sixth Defense contract placed in Washington state during the year.
For the average reader, the work rarely surfaces in daily life, yet it shapes the price of imported goods and domestic fuel. Clear channels at the Mississippi’s mouth let tankers and grain ships pass without lightering cargo, which trims transport costs that reach consumers.
Has this happened before? Yes, federal dredging contracts recur on a seasonal cycle across the Gulf Coast. The Corps awards maintenance work each year to keep navigation channels at authorized depths, and marine contractors compete routinely for hopper dredge assignments.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans, will oversee performance and any follow-on decisions on the contract. A date for further action has not been announced beyond the May 7, 2027, estimated completion.
Dredging the lower Mississippi has drawn crews for more than a century, as happened before. Congress authorized jetties at South Pass in 1875, and engineer James Buchanan Eads completed them by 1879, deepening the channel from about eight feet to nearly 30 feet. The work opened New Orleans to larger oceangoing ships and cemented the river’s role as a trade artery. Eads earned national acclaim, and his jetty method reshaped how the country kept its harbors open.
Source: NewsFindr Chart Maker
Note: Chart generated by NewsFindr for Manson Construction Co. on July 13, 2026 at 5:18 PM ET