How would dredging affect the local oil refineries along the Delaware River?
One million gallons of oil are delivered to the Sunoco refinery in Philadelphia, but the cost to the military and local economy is high because the channel is not deep enough. Ed Hazzouri, Sunoco The Sunoco facilities use Suez-class tankers that have a capacity of 1 million barrels a day with a 55 foot draft; they must utilize lightering barges at Big Stone Anchorage in order to make the trip up the channel. The VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers) have a capacity of 2 million barrels and need to be lightered by 55% to make it up the channel. This substantially raises costs for consumers due to excess costs to the cargo liners. The use of lightering barges also creates environmental concerns as it increases the potential for an oil spill.
