Thoma-Sea Launches Armor One Barge
Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors, located in Lockport, La., launched the barge for Vicksburg Engineer District’s forthcoming Armor One September 4. Armor One is the eventual successor for the Corps’ Mat Sinking Unit, charged with carrying out revetment operations on the Lower Mississippi River and tributaries.
“Armor One represents a transformative leap forward in revetment operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” according to a statement on the Vicksburg District’s Facebook page. “Once complete, Armor One will revolutionize mat sinking operations, reducing risk, increasing output and minimizing downtime, all while enhancing our ability to maintain resilient, navigable waterways.”
The current Mat Sinking Unit has been at work for more than three quarters of a century. Its crew of close to 300 armors the river by lining the river bottom, from the bank toward the channel, with articulated concrete mattress, or “mat.” Doing so stabilizes the river bottom and helps prevent further scouring at problem spots.
The Corps hopes the forthcoming Armor One will not not only improve safety and reliability but also boost production for revetment operations.
Crews aboard the current Mat Sinking Unit, use hand-held pneumatic tie tools to stitch the 25-foot long, 4-foot wide concrete “squares” together to form mats. They can produce 1,300 to 2,000 squares per day.
Corps officials have said Armor One, which will employ robotics and automation, will double production. The Vicksburg District has partnered with the Corps’ Marine Design Center, the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University, Salas O’Brien, Bristol Harbor Group and ABS Group to develop Armor One.
According to Christi Kilroy, public affairs chief for the Vicksburg District, Thoma-Sea launched the Armor One barge without robotics. In the weeks ahead, robotics and the unit’s gantry crane will be installed, with sea trials to follow.
Robotics prototype testing was completed at Carnegie Mellon in September 2020, and construction began at Thoma-Sea in early 2021. Labor shortages and damage at the shipyard from Hurricane Ida in August 2021 have delayed delivery of Armor One.
Featured image caption: The Armor One barge ahead of its launch. (Photo courtesy of the Vicksburg District)
