Presenters: Chet Thomas, PE and Ryan Milkowski, PE

Port of Portland

The Port of Portland was created in 1891 with the initial purpose of dredging the Willamette and Columbia Rivers from Portland to the Pacific Ocean for the purposes of trade navigation. Today the Port owns and operates the only 30-inch pipeline dredge on the Columbia River, the Dredge Oregon.

The Dredge Oregon started its life as a Mississippi River Towboat built for the Army in 1943. In 1965 it was converted to a cutter-suction dredge for the Port of Portland and has been in service in the Columbia River ever since. It has undergone two major upgrades in the past decade. This tour will cover those projects, as well as take students virtually aboard the dredge where they will get to see the miscellaneous spaces and machinery installed on the Dredge. The disciplines involved are mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and marine engineering.