This unidentified vessel is using a dredging bucket to remove silt or sediments from the mouth of the Saco River. Periodic dredging of the channel has been necessary to keep the navigation channel open.

The material dredged (sand or sediment) was placed at Camp Ellis Beach as some form of beach nourishment.

The Camp Ellis jetty in the background was constructed in 1865, authorized by Congress and completed in 1869. The rock jetty is located at the northern end of the Saco River.