PSA: the muck at the Port of Tacoma slip 4 is sitting at 9 feet and nobody is saying it loud enough

Hugo Barnes · 2026-09-11T06:00:05.619301+00:00

I ran my 12 inch cutterhead through slip 4 at the Port of Tacoma last Tuesday and the suction plugged every 20 minutes for a full 6 hour shift. Pulled the pump apart that night and the wear plate was chewed down a quarter inch, which lines up with all the grit coming off that new sheet pile job they are driving in next door. When I called the office to flag it, the guy on the phone said "that is just normal wear" even though I have cut that same slip for 4 seasons with no issues. Far as I can tell, the contractor is letting fines run into the water and nobody is testing the bed because the test window already closed for the quarter. My fuel burn was up 18 percent that week because I was running the pump half choked the whole time. Any other operators working that stretch seeing the same thing, or is my wear plate just cooked?

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PSA: the muck at the Port of Tacoma slip 4 is sitting at 9 feet and nobody is saying it loud enough | Dredge Operators - Opinions Matter