Dredging

Baltimore routes 1.46 million cubic yards to Cox Creek

Published 18 July 2026 Editorial responsibility IMWO Region Americas Confidence Confirmed

Jeremy Todd / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District

Curtin Maritime's DB Avalon is dredging approximately 1.46 million cubic yards from Baltimore Harbor approach channels. The material is loaded into scows and taken to the Cox Creek containment facility.

What changed

The 22 June 2026 USACE/DVIDS story controls the active DB Avalon operation, current contractor, approximately 1.46-million-cubic-yard scope, Cox Creek route and 24-hour work pattern. The 23 February Baltimore District release independently records the current approach-channel quantity and geometry. Maryland Port Administration sources provide the broader annual dredging context and the separate STAR capacity-recovery plan. The November 2024 USD 33.5 million award is a predecessor package, not the current contract value.

Why it matters

That route keeps the harbor campaign moving, but it is only the first half of the material story. Receipt at Cox Creek is not the same as material recovered through the separate STAR remediation programme, and neither proves that the navigation channel has been accepted at its authorized depth.

Decision read

What remains open

The current field record is unusually specific: it identifies the dredge, contractor, planned quantity and receiving facility. It does not publish the current contract value, final excavation, Cox Creek receipt totals or post-dredge survey. Those remain open items. The USD 229 million fiscal-year appropriation and the previous USD 33.5 million dredging award belong to different scopes.

Next watchpoints

Measured excavation against the approximately 1.46-million-cubic-yard contract scope
Scow movements and documented material receipts at Cox Creek
Post-dredge hydrography and acceptance across the authorized 50-foot channels
Sediment characterization and compliance with the approved routing plan
USACE completion and acceptance of the current Curtin Maritime package
STAR opening of the first remediated 26-acre parcel
Verified STAR capacity recovery against the separate 2026 target and five-year plan

Knowledge context

Sources used 7

Federal, State Partners Practice Beneficial Use Solutions for Port of Baltimore U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District via DVIDS, 22 June 2026
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works announces Build Infrastructure, Not Paperwork transformation initiative U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, 23 February 2026
Port Operations: Dredging Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration, Current programme page
Maryland Port Commission open-session minutes Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration, 3 June 2025
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete USD 33 million in Baltimore Harbor and Channels dredging U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Atlantic Division, 8 November 2024
DB Avalon maintains critical navigation channels U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District via DVIDS, 22 June 2026
USACE Baltimore District and Maryland Port Administration partner to ensure safe navigation U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District via DVIDS, 22 June 2026

Corrections and methodology

Facts are dated to the source record above. IMWO updates the brief when procurement, award, delivery, or scope evidence materially changes.

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