Less than 1000 feet west (upstream) of the Hwy 17 bridge over the Ashley River, near the southern shore, there is a dredging pipe approximately 1/2 mile in length. The pipe has a few markers including maybe one strobe light marker, and a small utility barge along the pipe, but about 200 yards of the western end of the pipe is not marked and nearly invisible. The pipe is black and about one foot in diameter and laying just below the water surface.
There is a much bigger dredge pipe operation going on along the Charleston harbor southern shore within a mile of the Battery, it is much easier to see.
I reported the first pipe as a hazard to the CG.
These pipes could ruin your boat or worse, please be alert.
It most likely a private company that was/still is dredging Ripley light with the pipe line going up towards the Citadel.(Army Corps doesn’t dredge up the Ashley river).
Here are the Coast Guard rules and the Army Corps rules for everyone’s information. First thing I’d do is contact the USCG…
88.15 Lights on dredge pipelines.
Dredge pipelines that are floating or
supported on trestles shall display the
following lights at night and in periods
of restricted visibility.
(a) One row of yellow lights. The
lights must be:
(1) Flashing 50 to 70 times per
minute,
(2) Visible all around the horizon,
(3) Visible for at least 2 miles on a
clear dark night,
(4) Not less than 1 and not more than
3.5 meters above the water,
(5) Approximately equally spaced,
and
(6) Not more than 10 meters apart
where the pipeline crosses a navigable
channel. Where the pipeline does not
cross a navigable channel the lights
must be sufficient in number to clearly
show the pipeline?s length and course.
(b) Two red lights at each end of the
pipeline, including the ends in a channel
where the pipeline is separated to
allow vessels to pass (whether open or
closed). The lights must be:
(1) Visible all around the horizon, and
(2) Visible for at least 2 miles on a
clear dark night, and
(3) One meter apart in a vertical line
with the lower light at the same height
above the water as the flashing yellow
light.
Corps rules:
Dredge pipelines that are floating or supported on trestles shall display appropriate lights at night and in periods of restricted visibility in accordance with USCG regulations and 33 CFR 88.15.
19.G.03 Submerged and floating dredge pipeline.
a. Submerged pipeline and any anchor securing the pipeline shall rest on the channel bottom where a pipeline crosses a navigation channel. The depth of the submerged pipeline will be provided to the USCG for publication.
Whenever buoyant or semi-buoyant pipeline is used, the dredge operator will assure that the pipeline remains fully submerg
I wish we could have a guy from one of the dredge companies come give us a class on these dredge set ups. I am always a little unsure when I pass one. I give them a wide berth but never exactly sure how the pipes lay.
