The Dutra Group has been awarded a contract to maintain and deepen berths serving container ships and the channels that provide access to them at the North Container Terminal at Norfolk International Terminals in Norfolk, Virginia, with work due to begin this autumn.
Dutra has estimated that the work will remove about 1.5 million cubic yards (1.1 million cubic metres) and deepen the berths to newly authorised depths of 55 feet (17 metres).
The company said the deeper berths will allow larger ships to call at the terminal and improve regional transportation efficiency.
Dutra will mobilise its mechanical dredger Crane Barge Harry S for the project. The company has described the barge and excavator as relatively recent additions to its marine fleet.
The dredger completed the final phase of the Mobile Harbor Deepening Project in Mobile, Alabama, before her planned move to Norfolk, according to the company.
The terminal berth contract follows completion of a separate navigation channel project in Norfolk Harbor. The Port of Virginia announced in March that dredging for the harbour upgrade had been completed on February 28, 2026.
The US$450 million harbour channel upgrade deepened the channel to 55 feet and included widening to enable two-way passage for large container vessels. The work formed part of a US$1.4 billion investment program.
Norfolk International Terminals is also the focus of separate investment to increase its capacity to handle the largest container ships. The port said in March that a fourth berth for large container ships had entered operation in February.