The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers joined contractors Eastern Shipbuilding Group and Royal IHC on April 4, 2025, in Panama City, FL for a steel cutting ceremony, kicking off construction of a Medium Class Hopper Dredge to replace the Dredge McFARLAND of the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District. The ceremony took place in the Steel Processing Building at ESG’s Allanton Road Shipyard in Panama City. Allanton is where most of the Medium Class Hopper Dredge construction – steel fabrication, assembly, and vessel launch – is taking place.