bucket-ladder dredge

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bucket-ladder dredge

Also known as: bucket-line dredge

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Last updated

June 22, 2026

Quick Summary

A bucket-ladder dredge is a type of floating excavation device that uses a continuous chain of buckets to remove material from underwater. These buckets rotate around a rigid frame called a ladder. As the ladder is lowered to the seabed at an angle, the empty buckets dig into the material. The loaded buckets then travel up the upper side of the ladder, where they dump their contents at the top.1

Bucket-ladder dredges are effective for excavating various materials, including stiff soils and even softer rocks if equipped with hardened edges and teeth. However, a significant disadvantage is their need for an elaborate system of fixed moorings, which limits the area they can cover and can cause interruptions to dredging operations due to the frequent repositioning of moorings.2

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harbours and sea works
Dredging
…dredging fleets has been the bucket-ladder dredge, operating a continually moving chain of open-ended shovels or scoops. At the bottom of the ladder the scoops are pushed into the face of the material and empty themselves as they turn over at the top, the material falling into chutes that divert…
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…dredging fleets has been the bucket-ladder dredge, operating a continually moving chain of open-ended shovels or scoops. At the bottom of the ladder the scoops are pushed into the face of the material and empty themselves as they turn over at the top, the material falling into chutes that divert…
Read More

mining
Marine beaches and continental shelves
Being a continuous process, bucket-ladder dredging can produce at high rates, depending on bucket size, power, and digging conditions. Dredges of this type have been used successfully all over the world for mining gold, tin, and platinum placers as well as diamond deposits. Their offshore use has been limited…
Read More
Being a continuous process, bucket-ladder dredging can produce at high rates, depending on bucket size, power, and digging conditions. Dredges of this type have been used successfully all over the world for mining gold, tin, and platinum placers as well as diamond deposits. Their offshore use has been limited…
Read More

canals and inland waterways
Waterway maintenance
Bucket dredgers for major operations are supplemented by suction, or grab, dredgers for localized work. Hopper barges are required for transporting dredged materials to disposal sites, which should be numerous enough to minimize the transporting period, so that the dredger remains fully operational with a…
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Bucket dredgers for major operations are supplemented by suction, or grab, dredgers for localized work. Hopper barges are required for transporting dredged materials to disposal sites, which should be numerous enough to minimize the transporting period, so that the dredger remains fully operational with a…
Read More