Curtin Maritime Wins $32 Million Baltimore Harbor Maintenance Dredging Contract

Curtin Maritime Corp. of Long Beach, California, has won a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract to dredge approximately 2.25 million cubic yards of material from deep-draft federal navigation channels serving the Port of Baltimore. The firm-fixed-price award has a total potential value of $31.7 million. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2027.

Baltimore Harbor and Channels Maintenance Dredging Details

Curtin will remove accumulated sediment from Maryland channels in the Chesapeake Bay that provide access to Baltimore Harbor. The award notice calls for maintenance dredging, rather than construction of a deeper channel, across a volume roughly equivalent to the work the Corps assigned Curtin in its prior-year maintenance cycle.

The work is part of the Corps’ recurring effort to keep the port’s deep-draft channels at their authorized dimensions as sediment builds up. The Corps describes the main shipping channels as maintained to a depth of 50 feet, with the navigation network extending through the Chesapeake Bay approaches to Baltimore Harbor. Dredging helps preserve passage for the large commercial vessels that use those channels.

Award and Contractor Background

The Corps awarded the contract on September 29, 2026, after receiving three bids. The $31.7 million total face value includes a $31.5 million action at award.

Curtin has performed recent work on the same navigation project. In November 2024, the Corps announced a $33.5 million maintenance dredging contract for approximately 2.3 million cubic yards, with completion then expected in March 2025. A separate Curtin contract for FY2026 Baltimore Harbor and Channels maintenance dredging has a potential value of $22.8 million and a listed performance end date in April 2026. Other recent awards show the recurring scope of the project: the Corps awarded Cashman Dredging & Marine Contracting $29.1 million in December 2023 to dredge approximately 1.6 million cubic yards, including work in the Brewerton Channel Eastern Extension and Curtis Bay Channel.

This award was disclosed by the DoW in its daily press release. Additional contract details will be available on HigherGov in approximately 90 days under W912DR26CA021 after the contract is formally disclosed by the government.