Opinion ID: 199142
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Dredge.

Text: 4 The SUPER SCOOP is a large floating platform - its exact dimensions do not appear in the record - equipped with a clamshell bucket. It operates as a dredge, removing silt from the ocean floor and dumping the sediment onto one of two scows that float alongside. Once the scows are full, tugboats tow them out to sea and dispose of the dredged material. 5 Though largely stationary, the SUPER SCOOP has navigation lights, ballast tanks, and a dining area for the crew. Crew members control the clamshell bucket by manipulating a tag-line cable attached to a counterweight. The SUPER SCOOP is incapable of self-propulsion. Crew members use anchors and cables to achieve positional movement at near-glacial speeds. The SUPER SCOOP typically moves once every two hours, covering a distance of thirty to fifty feet. Its scows also lack any means of self-propulsion. Tugboats normally are used to achieve movement. Alternatively, the dredge's crew drops a bucket from the dredge into one of the scow's hoppers; by manipulating the cables, the crew then swings the bucket so that it guides the scow around the dredge. 6 The SUPER SCOOP is classified as an industrial vessel, and as such, it is required to register and comply with safety regulations issued by the Coast Guard and the United States Department of Transportation. Similarly, the American Bureau of Shipping has issued a load-line certificate to the SUPER SCOOP. 7