Houma, La. -
Mark Hebert of Lafayette toured his office for the first time Monday. As the newly-named captain of the CR McCaskill, Hebert is in charge of the $41 million dredge.
Weeks Marine christened the CR McCaskill at the company's shipyard in Houma. The massive boat is the culmination of years of planning and development across the country.
"The hull was actually built in the state of Indiana," says company president Richard Weeks. "The quarters were built over in Abbeville. The ladder and A-frame were built over in Mobile and all these pieces came together here.
The dredge is named after longtime employee Charlie McCaskill, who worked his way up through the company's Louisiana offices.
"Weeks Marine has many hard-working and dedicated employees," McCaskill says. "To be chosen for this honor among them is humbling to say the least."
The dredge and another being built by Weeks Marine will create at least 125 permanent jobs close to home. The CR McCaskill will be clearing waterways in the state.
The dredge is so powerful, it can fill a backyard swimming pool in just 30 seconds. That power will be used to rebuild Louisiana's coastline. The sediment dredged by the CR McCaskill will be pumped to the fragile barrier islands.
"We're going to have Louisiana people working on coastal restoration work and with a vessel like this, using the monies primarily from the BP fines," says Congressman Steve Scalise. "That's really what we had intended all along when we pushed for the Restore Act is to make sure not only was that money dedicated to the states where the damage occurred but that we use that money to restore the damage that was done."
For Mark Hebert, the boat means coming home. After 25 years of working around the country, he now gets to help rebuild the state he loves.
"They told me within a week or two I should be coming back over here to start preparing this one to get out of here and I'm ready to go," he says.
