Dredge

A dredge, or "dredger", is a waterborne craft used to remove sediment from the bottoms of rivers and harbors, make new harbours or berths by deepening, place sand on beaches and reclaim land. Dredges are also used for collecting scallops from the seabed as well as trash and debris control. Dredgers can be with a buckets on a chain or with a pump and a cutter head.

A dredge is also a piece of heavy equipment used to remove overburden in an open pit or strip mine, or, in the case of gold placer mining, to pick up ore and gravel and send it through sluices to remove gold and deposit the remaining rock, or tailings, behind the dredge.

In some police departments dredges are used for underwater location of murder victims or those who have committed suicide by drowning.

See also

• Bucket dredge