Why dredging?

I’ll admit it. I’m an avid gamer. I’ve recently watched a playthrough on Still Wakes the Deep (not dredging, but an offshore oil drilling rig) developed by famed The Chinese Room and published by Secret Mode, and have begun to play DREDGE by Black Salt Games. I mention both because Still Wakes the Deep is what initially made me more interested in oceanic-focused games. It also has those gripping horror and thriller elements that call to me like a siren at sea. However, it was DREDGE that sucked me in.

DREDGE is dark. Dreary. Panic-inducing. Oddly peaceful. You’re a fisherman who seeks to escape their past and becomes the new fisher for The Marrows, one of the islands in the game. Fishing day in and day out leads you to some disturbing discoveries about the local aqualife. No one else seems to think all that much of it. Keep playing, and you’ll discover certain artifacts and new islands, each with their own histories and monsters. It’s up to you and your little fishing boat, attached with a crane scoop dredger, to help the citizens and survive the underwater shadows. This got me interested in what exactly dredging was. Similar to the game? Somewhat, but there’s a whole world beyond!

What is it?

Dredging is the act of removal from bodies of water— specifically, sediment and debris buildup. To keep waterways clear for vessels or to let larger vessels through unharmed, dredging is a regular action taken by local, state, federal, and private entities. Environmental dredging focuses more on removing potential contamination to reduce the effect it may have on surrounding flora and fauna. Visit the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) for more information.

DREDGE has you collect debris to upgrade your boat and complete quests. You can also dredge for artifacts to sell or use for quests. Artifact hunting would probably need to be done through diving in real life. I wouldn’t want to get so close to some of the more special trinkets in the game, though, so using the little crane scoop is the smartest choice for that reality!

How is it done?

The most common images you’ll find when looking up the term are machines with cranes and scoops. Cranes support heavy weight, and scoops are perfect for excavating silt buildup. Dredges will either have places onboard to store the removed materials or will have vessels nearby that can carry the debris. This is especially important for silt, as waterways will carry it back to where it was if it is not removed properly. Nowadays, there are specialized machines built that use suction to dredge. This type of dredging can be done by divers, which is especially useful in more inaccessible areas. Dredging can also be done to clear excessive waterweed growth. These types actually cut the aquatic plants and store them in a hopper. These hopper dredges are also useful for clearing heavy sediment.

Types of Dredges

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers divides dredges into two main categories: Hydraulic and Mechanical.

Hydraulic

Hydraulic dredges are quite fascinating. They need to remove a certain mixture of water and debris/sediment to work at full capacity. Too much of one or the other causes issues. These can be further divided into two categories: hopper dredges (pictured above) and cutterhead pipeline dredges.

Water can be expelled from hopper dredges as it works. This helps to contain the debris while not bogging down the dredge with too much water. Hopper dredges are some of the faster kind, and work best in deeper water with in-water disposal sites not too far away.

Cutterhead pipeline dredges are scary. Sorry, they’re really cool, I just also have a fear of them now. The pipeline is just that— a pipeline from the dredging site to the disposal site. They aren’t self powered, but connected to a barge. They tend to be one of the more cost-efficient options for long-term removal. What’s so scary, then? It’s the first word, cutterhead. The cutterhead is the front of the pipeline, or mouth, and is buried at the intake, or dredging, site. It containes fan blades that help break up and sometimes crush the debris intake. Some are so strong that they can take care of solid rocks with little to no issues. Now I have an irrational fear of getting sucked into one, though how I would end up so deep is beyond me.

Mechanical

Mechanical dredges are what the fishing boat in DREDGE is. Though according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the subject of dredges, the boat in DREDGE is more half-baked. Let me explain.

Mechanical dredges scoop debris and sediment out of water. They are large barges and have on-deck storing units for the material removed. It is not uncommon to have disposal barges nearby as well, as this extends the time the dredge can work without needing to stop for emptying its own bins. The buckets that scoop debris work best with more compacted material. Loose things tend to wash out as the dredging bucket drains.

The boat in DREDGE is, first and foremost, a fishing vessel. It does not have the equipment onboard to contain debris, so I can only assume collecting wood, cloth, and scrap metal means you just dump the bucket on the ship and wait for the water to flow off the sides of the boat. The crane and dredging bucket in the game aren’t large at all, so it does make sense that they wouldn’t require a barge. However, the issue with collecting trinkets when dredging buckets are easily emptied is a concern. This is where the minigame really shines. In DREDGE, you play a minigame anytime you dredge or fish. Dredging trinkets is, in my opinion, one of the hardest things to do. This could be taken as focusing on your technique to make sure the trinket is not lost to the waves once more. I can’t help but wonder if this was intended.

Beyond Dredging

We’ve barely scratched the surface of dredging in this blog post. I’ve included links to sources where I learned from in the sections above, so make sure to click on them too if you’d like less digestible, more in-depth looks at dredging. Visiting sites where people offer dredging services is also a fantastic way to see the machines and their parts.

Do you have any experience with dredging? Have you played DREDGE? Make sure to leave your comments below!