Weeks Marine

Weeks Marine is a marine construction and dredging contractor headquartered in Cranford, New Jersey. The company traces its origins to 1919, when Francis H. Weeks and his son Richard B. Weeks established the Weeks Stevedoring Company in the Port of New York. Its initial work involved handling bunker coal and dry ballast with a small crane fleet. Over time, the business expanded from stevedoring into a broad range of marine infrastructure and specialized contracting activities. The company’s principal activities are organized around construction, dredging, and marine services. These activities include marine terminal and waterfront construction, dredging and excavation, shoreline and coastal protection, salvage, navigation-aid installation, heavy lifting, barge transportation, and other work requiring large floating equipment. Weeks has also performed projects for public agencies, including work associated with the United States Coast Guard, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, transportation authorities, and state coastal and environmental programs. Weeks’ development was closely tied to the expansion of its equipment fleet. During the Second World War, the company used its cranes to load military equipment bound for Europe. After the war, wooden crane hulls were replaced with steel hulls, improving durability and extending operating capability. In the 1950s, Weeks moved beyond traditional stevedoring into salvage, dredging, navigation infrastructure, breakwater construction, and the removal of abandoned wooden vessels. The company acquired its first crane intended exclusively for non-stevedoring work in 1958. During the 1960s and 1970s, Weeks built a more substantial marine transportation and construction platform. It added deck barges, a dump scow, its first dredge, and a large tug. These additions enabled the company to undertake increasingly complex dredging, heavy-lift, reclamation, and construction assignments. In the 1980s and 1990s, growth also came through acquisitions, including M.P. Howlett, American Dredging Company, and T.L. James, broadening the company’s geographical reach and dredging capabilities. Weeks has maintained a presence beyond the northeastern United States through regional offices and operations in Louisiana, Texas, Hawaii, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. Its reported equipment base includes multiple yards, tugboats, dredges, cranes, and barges. The company also owns or operates through subsidiaries including Healy Tibbitts Builders, McNally International, and North American Aggregates. These businesses support construction, dredging, marine transportation, aggregates, and specialized infrastructure work. Among the company’s notable assignments are the artificial reefing of retired New York City subway cars between 2001 and 2003 and again between 2008 and 2010. Weeks transported prepared rail cars to designated reef sites in several Atlantic and southeastern coastal states. Its large Weeks 533 rotating barge crane has also been used for high-profile lifts, including moving the Concorde and Space Shuttle Enterprise to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and recovering the wreckage of US Airways Flight 1549 from the Hudson River. On January 3, 2023, Kiewit Corporation acquired Weeks Marine. Following the transaction, Weeks continued operating under its established name, preserving the brand’s identity while becoming part of Kiewit’s broader construction organization. The company therefore remains an active specialist contractor whose identity is based on marine equipment, engineering capability, project execution, and long experience in ports, waterways, shorelines, and offshore-related infrastructure.

Weeks Marine began in 1919 as the Weeks Stevedoring Company, founded by Francis H. Weeks and Richard B. Weeks in the Port of New York. The company initially handled bunker coal and dry ballast with two cranes. Its business expanded during the Second World War, when it loaded military equipment for shipment to Europe. Wartime use placed heavy demands on the fleet, and after the war the company replaced wooden crane hulls with steel structures, including the Weeks No. 6 and No. 7. In the 1950s, Weeks broadened its activities beyond stevedoring. It undertook salvage and dredging work, installed navigation aids for the United States Coast Guard, and built a breakwater associated with the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel and Governors Island. The company also became a prime contractor for removing abandoned wooden vessels for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, a type of work that remained part of its business. In 1958, it acquired the Weeks No. 500, its first crane dedicated to work outside traditional stevedoring. The company developed a larger floating-equipment platform during the 1960s. Two deck barges were built for Weeks in 1960, followed by the Weeks No. 250 dump scow in 1962. Over the following decade, the barge fleet grew and became a central part of the company’s operating model. In the 1970s, Weeks acquired the Venture, its first dredge, and the William J. McPhillips, its first large tug. These additions supported broader work in dredging, marine construction, transportation, and coastal infrastructure. Weeks expanded through acquisitions during the 1980s and 1990s. It acquired M.P. Howlett, a New York stevedoring company, in 1983; American Dredging Company in 1993; and T.L. James, a Louisiana dredging company, in 1998. These transactions strengthened its position in stevedoring and dredging and extended its operational presence beyond the northeastern United States. From 2001 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2010, Weeks served as prime consultant and contractor for projects that converted retired New York City Subway cars into artificial reefs. The cars were stripped, transported by barge, and placed at designated reef sites in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The program became one of the company’s most recognizable environmental and marine logistics assignments. Weeks’ heavy-lift capability has also been demonstrated by the use of the Weeks 533, a large rotating barge crane. The crane participated in moving the Concorde and Space Shuttle Enterprise to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and in recovering the downed hull of US Airways Flight 1549 from the Hudson River. These projects illustrate the company’s role in unusual marine recovery, transportation, and lifting operations. By the early 2020s, Weeks operated through construction, dredging, and marine services divisions and maintained regional operations in Louisiana, Texas, Hawaii, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. Its equipment resources included yards, tugboats, dredges, cranes, and barges. Subsidiaries included Healy Tibbitts Builders, McNally International, and North American Aggregates. On January 3, 2023, Kiewit Corporation acquired Weeks Marine. The company retained its name and continued operating as a distinct marine contracting business within Kiewit’s ownership.

• 2023

  Acquired by Kiewit Corporation

  [1]Weeks Marineen.wikipedia.org

  Kiewit Corporation acquired Weeks Marine, which continued operating under the Weeks name.

• 1993

  American Dredging Company acquired

  [1]Weeks Marineen.wikipedia.org

  The acquisition expanded Weeks’ dredging operations and added the capabilities of a long-established dredging company.

• 1962

  First dump scow acquired

  [1]Weeks Marineen.wikipedia.org

  Weeks added the Weeks No. 250 dump scow to support marine construction and dredging work.

• 1960

  First deck barges added

  [1]Weeks Marineen.wikipedia.org

  The company added two deck barges, establishing a larger floating-equipment base.

• 1958

  First crane dedicated to non-stevedoring work

  [1]Weeks Marineen.wikipedia.org

  Weeks acquired the Weeks No. 500 for marine projects outside its original cargo-handling business.

• 1919

  Company founded as Weeks Stevedoring Company

  [1]Weeks Marineen.wikipedia.org

  Francis H. Weeks and Richard B. Weeks established the business in the Port of New York with an initial focus on stevedoring and cargo handling.

A full-service marine contractor positioned around large-scale equipment, specialized engineering, and integrated execution across dredging, construction, heavy lifting, salvage, and marine services.

• Construction services

  Marine Construction

  Weeks’ marine construction work covers waterfront, port, coastal, and other projects performed from floating equipment or along navigable waterways. The capability is supported by cranes, barges, tugs, and specialized project-management resources.

• Marine excavation

  Dredging

  The dredging business performs removal, placement, and management of underwater material for navigation, construction, reclamation, and coastal projects. Dredging became a central part of Weeks’ operations after the company expanded beyond stevedoring in the mid-twentieth century.

• Specialized marine services

  Marine Services

  Marine services include salvage, wreck removal, heavy lifting, barge and tug support, navigation-aid work, and other specialized assignments requiring marine equipment and operational expertise.

• Heavy-lift crane

  Weeks 533

  The Weeks 533 is a large rotating barge crane used for heavy marine lifts and recovery operations. Its documented assignments include moving major museum objects and recovering the hull of US Airways Flight 1549 from the Hudson River.

• 2023

  Kiewit acquisition and continued operation under the Weeks nameM&A

  Background

  Kiewit Corporation acquired Weeks Marine on January 3, 2023, bringing the marine contractor into Kiewit’s ownership.

  Action taken

  The transaction was completed while Weeks retained its established operating name and marine business identity.

  Aftermath

  Weeks became part of Kiewit while continuing as a distinct active marine construction and dredging business.

  Source

• 2023

  Kiewit acquires Weeks Marine[1]Weeks Marineen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Kiewit Corporation acquired Weeks Marine on January 3, 2023. Weeks continued to operate under its existing name after the transaction.

1. 1Weeks Marineen.wikipedia.org