The following risk factors address the material risks and uncertainties concerning our business. You should carefully consider the following risks and other information contained or incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K when evaluating our business and financial condition and an investment in our common stock. Should any of the following risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, such developments could have material adverse effects on our business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations. We have grouped our Risk Factors under captions that we believe describe various categories of

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potential risk. For the reader’s convenience, we have not duplicated risk factors that could be considered to be included in mor e than one category.

Risks Related to our Business

We depend on our ability to continue to obtain federal government dredging and other contracts, and are therefore impacted by the amount of government funding for dredging and other projects. A reduction in government funding for dredging or other contracts, or government cancellation of such contracts, could materially adversely affect our business operations, revenues and profits.

A substantial portion of our revenue is derived from federal government contracts, particularly dredging contracts. Revenues related to dredging contracts with federal agencies or companies operating under contracts with federal agencies and the percentage as a total of dredging revenue for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 were as follows:

Amounts spent by the federal government on dredging and environmental and infrastructure are subject to the budgetary and legislative processes. We would expect the federal government to continue to improve and maintain ports as it has for many years, which will necessitate a certain level of federal spending. However, there can be no assurance that the federal government will allocate any particular amount or level of funds to be spent on dredging or environmental projects for any specified period.

In addition, potential contract cancellations, modifications, protests, suspensions or terminations may arise from resolution of these issues and could cause our revenues, profits and cash flows to be lower. Federal government contracts can be canceled at any time without penalty to the government, subject to, in most cases, our contractual right to recover our actual committed costs and profit on work performed up to the date of cancellation. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the federal government will not cancel any federal government contracts that have been or are awarded to us. Even if a contract is not cancelled, the government may elect to not award further work pursuant to a contract. A significant reduction in government funding for dredging or remediation contracts, could materially adversely affect our business, operations, revenues and profits.

We depend on our ability to qualify as an eligible bidder under government contract criteria and to compete successfully against other qualified bidders in order to obtain government dredging and other contracts. Our inability to qualify or to compete successfully for certain contracts could materially adversely affect our business operations, revenues and profits.

The U.S. government and various state, local and foreign government agencies conduct rigorous competitive processes for awarding many contracts. Some contracts include multiple award task order contracts in which several contractors are selected as eligible bidders for future work. We will face strong competition and pricing pressures for any additional contract awards from the U.S. government and other domestic and foreign government agencies, and we may be required to qualify or continue to qualify under various multiple award task order contract criteria. Our inability to qualify as an eligible bidder under government contract criteria could preclude us from competing for certain government contract awards. In addition, our inability to qualify as an eligible bidder, or to compete successfully when bidding for certain government contracts and to win those contracts, could materially adversely affect our business, operations, revenues and profits.

The nature of our contracts, particularly those that are fixed-price, subjects us to risks associated with cost over-runs, operating cost inflation and potential claims for liquidated damages. If we are unable to accurately estimate our costs to complete our projects, our profitability could suffer.

We conduct our business under various types of contracts where costs are estimated in advance of our performance. Most dredging contracts are fixed-price contracts where the customer pays a fixed price per unit (e.g., cubic yard) of material dredged. In addition, most of our environmental and infrastructure contracts carry similar risks as compared to our fixed-price dredging contracts that may be increased due to the fact that environmental and infrastructure contracts may not involve projects where we have historical knowledge at the same location or specific prior experience to draw from when estimating cost. Fixed-price contracts carry inherent risks, including risks of losses from underestimating costs, operational difficulties, and other changes that can occur over the contract period. In 2017, we experienced delays as a result of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and Jose, which caused work stoppages in the impacted areas. If our estimates prove inaccurate, if there are errors or ambiguities as to contract specifications, or if circumstances change due to, among other things, unanticipated conditions or technical problems, difficulties in obtaining permits or approvals, changes in local laws or labor conditions, inclement or hazardous weather conditions, changes in cost of equipment or materials, or our suppliers’ or subcontractor’s inability to perform, then cost over-runs and delays in performance are likely to occur. We may not be able to obtain compensation for additional work performed or expenses incurred, or may be delayed in receiving necessary

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approvals or payments. Additionally, we may be required to pay liquidated damages upon our failure to meet schedule or performance requirements of our contracts. Our failur e to accurately estimate the resources and time required for fixed-price contracts or our failure to perform our contractual obligations within the expected time frame and costs could result in reduced profits or, in certain cases, a loss for that contract . If we were to significantly underestimate the costs on one or more significant contracts, the resulting losses could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition.

Our results of operations depend on the award of new contracts and the timing of the performance of these contracts. As a result, our quarterly and annual operating results may vary significantly.

Our quarterly and annual results of operations have fluctuated from period to period in the past and may continue to fluctuate in the future. Accordingly, you should not rely on the results of any past quarter or quarters as an indication of future performance in our business operations or valuation of our stock. Our operating results could vary greatly from period to period due to factors such as:

If our results of operations from quarter to quarter fail to meet the expectations of public market analysts and investors, our stock price could be negatively impacted. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Primary Factors that Determine Operating Profitability.”

If we fail to comply with government contracting regulations, our revenue could suffer, and we could be subject to significant potential liabilities.

Our contracts with federal, state local and foreign governmental customers are subject to various procurement regulations and contract provisions. These regulations also subject us to examinations by government auditors and investigators, from time to time, to ensure compliance and to review costs. Violations of government contracting regulations could result in the imposition of civil and criminal penalties, which could include termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, imposition of payments and fines and suspension or debarment from future government contracting. If we fail to continue to qualify for or are suspended from work under a government contract for any reason, we could suffer a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition.

In addition, we may be subject to litigation brought by private individuals on behalf of the government relating to our government contracts, referred to in this annual report as “qui tam” actions, which could include claims for up to treble damages. Qui tam actions are sealed by the court at the time of filing. The only parties privy to the information in the complaint are the complainant, the U.S. government and the court. Therefore, it is possible that qui tam actions have been filed against us and that we are not aware of such actions or have been ordered by the court not to discuss them until the seal is lifted. Thus, it is possible that we are subject to liability exposure arising out of qui tam actions.

We are subject to risks related to our international dredging operations.

Revenue from foreign contracts and its percentage to total dredging revenue for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 were as follows:

The international dredging market is highly competitive and competition in the international market is dominated by four large European dredging companies, all of which operate larger equipment and fleets that are more modern and extensive than the Company’s. In addition, there are several governmentally supported dredging companies that operate on a local or regional basis.

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Competing for international dredging projects requires a substantial investment of resources, skilled personnel and capital investment in equipment and technology, and may adversely affect our ability to deploy resources for domestic dredging projects.

International operations subject us to additional potential risks, including:

In addition, our international operations are subject to U.S. and other laws and regulations regarding operations in foreign jurisdictions. These numerous and sometimes conflicting laws and regulations include anti-boycott laws, anti-competition laws, anti-corruption laws, tax laws, immigration laws, privacy laws and accounting requirements. There is a risk that some provisions may be breached, for example through inadvertence or mistake, fraudulent or negligent behavior of individual employees or of agents, or failure to comply with certain formal documentation requirements or otherwise. Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines and penalties, criminal sanctions against us, our officers, or our employees, prohibitions on the conduct of our business and on our ability to operate in one or more countries, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. In addition, military action, terrorist activities or continued unrest in the Middle East could affect the safety of our personnel in the region and significantly increase the costs of, or disrupt our operations in, the region and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition.

A significant portion of our international revenue is earned from large, single customer contracts.

The Company earns significant revenue from governmental entities and private parties in the Middle East. Revenue from foreign projects has been concentrated in the Middle East which comprised 97%, 89% and 90% of our foreign dredging revenues in the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. A large, single customer contract represented 76% of the Company’s foreign dredging revenue from all sources in the year ended December 31, 2017. The Company continues to maintain significant equipment in the Middle East region and continues to pursue additional contracts in the region.

Certain factors have occurred suggesting that future revenues from projects with governments in the Middle East could decrease. Historically lower oil prices and the contraction in Middle East commercial and real estate development have slowed the rate of the region’s infrastructure development. If the diplomatic relationship of the United States or our commercial relationship with governments in the Middle East is significantly negatively impacted or terminated, or we encounter significant difficulties in obtaining licensing or permits to do business in these countries, the Company’s international revenues would be materially and adversely impacted. If the government of Bahrain or Saudi Arabia further curtails its infrastructure investment or diversifies its use of dredging vendors, our revenue from these customers could decline further.

Other Middle East governments have national dredging companies and may be incentivized to use the national dredging company of another Middle East government or have significant history with competitive dredging vendors other than the Company. The Company could lose future contracts for work in the Middle East to these competitors or could be forced to accept lower margins on contracts in order to utilize the equipment that is located in the Middle East. In addition, the Company may be forced to shrink the workforce in place or relocate dredging assets from this region in reaction to lower contract earnings. Lower utilization, workforce

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reductions or asset relocations could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows or fina ncial condition.

Regional instability in the Middle East may adversely affect business conditions and may disrupt our operations.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other Middle East countries have experienced political turbulence in the recent past. Political uprisings and conflicts, including armed hostilities and civil unrest, may affect the political stability of the region. In addition, there has been a decline in the relationships between and amongst certain governments in the Middle East, such as continued conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the boycott of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt.

Deterioration in the political, economic, and social conditions or other relevant policies of the government, such as changes in laws or regulations, export restrictions, expropriation of our assets or resource nationalization, could materially and adversely affect our business, access to markets, financial condition, and results of operations. Similar civil unrest and political turbulence has occurred in other countries in the region.

In addition, such events may affect plans for infrastructure investment. If the government changes or significant restrictions are established, our dredging operations in the Middle East, including the value of our assets related to such operations, may be adversely affected.

Our financial results include certain estimates and assumptions that may differ from actual results.

In preparing our consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, a number of estimates and assumptions are made by management that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements. These estimates and assumptions must be made because certain information that is used in the preparation of our financial statements is either dependent on future events or cannot be calculated with a high degree of precision from available data. In some instances, these estimates are particularly uncertain and we must exercise significant judgment. Estimates are primarily used in our assessment of the recognition of revenue for costs and estimated earnings under the percentage of completion method of accounting as discussed above, the fair value of reporting units for goodwill impairment analysis, the assessment of impairment of intangibles and other long-lived assets, the purchase price allocations of businesses acquired, accrued insurance claims, income taxes, asset lives used in computing depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense for performance-based stock awards, and accruals for contingencies, including legal matters. At the time they are made, we believe that such estimates are fair when considered in conjunction with our consolidated financial position and results of operations taken as a whole. However, actual results could differ from those estimates and such differences may be material to our financial statements.

Lapses in disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting could materially and adversely affect our operations, profitability or reputation.

There can be no assurance that our disclosure controls and procedures will be effective in the future or that we will not experience a material weakness or significant deficiency in internal control over financial reporting. Any such lapses or deficiencies may materially and adversely affect our business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition, restrict our ability to access the capital markets, require us to expend significant resources to correct the lapses or deficiencies, expose us to regulatory or legal proceedings, including litigation brought by private individuals, subject us to fines, penalties or judgments, harm our reputation, or otherwise cause a decline in investor confidence and our stock price.

Many of our contracts have penalties for late completion.

In many instances, including in our fixed-price contracts, we guarantee that we will complete a project by a scheduled date. If we subsequently fail to complete the project as scheduled, we may be liable for any customer losses resulting from such delay, generally in the form of contractually agreed-upon liquidated damages. In addition, failure to maintain a required schedule could cause us to default on our government contracts, giving rise to a variety of potential damages. To the extent that these events occur, the total costs of the project could exceed our original estimates, and we could experience reduced profits or, in some cases, a loss for that project.

Force majeure events, including natural disasters and terrorists’ actions, could negatively impact our business, which may affect our business, operations, revenues, cash flows and profits.

Force majeure or extraordinary events beyond the control of the contracting parties, such as natural and man-made disasters, as well as terrorist actions, could negatively impact the economies in which we operate. We typically negotiate contract language where we are allowed certain relief from force majeure events in private client contracts and review and attempt to mitigate force majeure events in both public and private client contracts. We remain obligated to perform our services after most extraordinary events subject to relief that may be available pursuant to a force majeure clause.

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If a contract contains a force majeure provision, we may be able to obtain an extension of time to complete our obligations under such contract, but we will still be subject to our other contractual obligations in the event of such an extraordinary event. Because we cannot predict the length, severity or location of any potential force majeure event, it is not possible to determine the specific effects any such event may have on us. Depending on the specific circumstances of any particular force majeure event, or if we are unable to react quickly to such an event, our operations may be affected significantly, our productivity may be affected, our ability to complete projects in accordance with our contractual obligations may be a ffected, our payments from customers may be delayed and we may incur increased labor and materials costs, which could have a negative impact on our financial condition, relationships with customers or suppliers, and our reputation.

The amount of our estimated backlog is subject to change and not necessarily indicative of future revenues.

Our contract backlog represents our estimate of the revenues that we will realize under the portion of the contracts remaining to be performed. For dredging contracts these estimates are based primarily upon the time and costs required to mobilize the necessary assets to and from the project site, the amount and type of material to be dredged and the expected production capabilities of the equipment performing the work. For environmental and  infrastructure contracts, these estimates are based on the time and remaining costs required to complete the project relative to total estimated project costs and project revenues agreed to with the customer. However, these estimates are necessarily subject to variances based upon actual circumstances. From time to time, changes in project scope may occur with respect to contracts reflected in our backlog and could reduce the dollar amount of our backlog and the timing of the revenue and profits that we actually earn. Projects may remain in our backlog for an extended period of time because of the nature of the project and the timing of the particular services or equipment required by the project.

Because of these factors, as well as factors affecting the time required to complete each job, backlog is not necessarily indicative of future revenues or profitability. In addition, a significant amount of our dredging backlog (81% in 2017) relates to federal government contracts, which can be canceled at any time without penalty to the government, subject, in most cases, to our contractual right to recover our actual committed costs and profit on work performed up to the date of cancellation.

Below is our dredging backlog from federal government contracts as of December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015 and the percentage of those contracts to total backlog as of the same date.

At times we may have backlog with foreign governments that use local laws and regulations to change terms of a contract in backlog or to limit our ability to receive payment on a timely basis. Other contracts in backlog are with state and local municipalities or private companies that may have funding constraints or impose restrictions on timing. The termination, modification or suspension of projects currently in backlog could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition.

Our business would be adversely affected if we failed to comply with Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (the “Jones Act”) provisions on coastwise trade, or if those provisions were modified or repealed.

We are subject to the Jones Act and other federal laws that restrict dredging in U.S. waters and maritime transportation between points in the United States to vessels operating under the U.S. flag, built in the United States, at least 75% owned and operated by U.S. citizens and manned by U.S. crews. We are responsible for monitoring the ownership of our common stock to ensure compliance with these laws. If we do not comply with these restrictions, we would be prohibited from operating our vessels in the U.S. market, and under certain circumstances we would be deemed to have undertaken an unapproved foreign transfer, resulting in severe penalties, including permanent loss of U.S. dredging rights for our vessels, fines or forfeiture of the vessels.

In the past, interest groups have unsuccessfully lobbied Congress to modify or repeal the Jones Act to facilitate foreign flag competition for trades and cargoes currently reserved for U.S. flag vessels under the Jones Act. We believe that continued efforts may be made to modify or repeal the Jones Act or other federal laws currently benefiting U.S. flag vessels. If these efforts are ever successful, it could result in significantly increased competition and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

Our dependence on petroleum-based products increases our costs as the prices of such products increase, which could adversely affect our business, operations, revenues and profits.

Fuel prices fluctuate based on market events outside of our control. We use diesel fuel and other petroleum-based products to operate our equipment used in our dredging and environmental and infrastructure contracts. Fluctuations in supplies relative to

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demand and other factors can cause unanticipated increases in their cost. Most of our contracts do not allow us to adjust our pricing for higher fuel costs during a contract term and we may be unable to secure price increases reflecting rising costs when renewing or bidding contracts. Future increases in the costs of fuel and other petroleum-based products used in our business, particularly if a bid has been submitted for a contract and t he costs of those products have been estimated at amounts less than the actual costs thereof, could result in a lower profit, or even a loss, on one or more contracts.

If we are unable, in the future, to obtain bonding or letters of credit for our contracts, our ability to obtain future contracts will be limited, thereby adversely affecting our business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition.

We are generally required to post bonds in connection with our domestic dredging or environmental contracts and bonds or letters of credit with our foreign dredging contracts to ensure job completion if we ever fail to finish a project. We have entered into bonding agreements with Argonaut Insurance Company, Berkley Insurance Company, Chubb Surety and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (collectively, the “Sureties”) to which the Sureties act as surety, issue bid bonds, performance bonds and payment bonds, and provide guarantees required by us in the day-to-day operations of our dredging business. The Company also has outstanding bonds with Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America and Zurich. However, under certain circumstances as specified in the agreement, Zurich is not obligated under the Zurich Bonding Agreement to issue future bonds for us. Historically, we have had a strong bonding capacity, but surety companies issue bonds on a project-by-project basis and can decline to issue bonds at any time or require the posting of collateral as a condition to issuing any bonds. With respect to our foreign dredging business, we generally obtain letters of credit under our Credit Agreement. However, access to our senior credit facility under our Credit Agreement may be limited by failure to meet certain levels of availability or other defined financial or other requirements. If we are unable to obtain bonds or letters of credit on terms reasonably acceptable to us, our ability to take on future work would be severely limited.

In connection with the sale of our historical demolition business, we were obligated to keep in place the surety bonds on pending demolition projects for the period required under the respective contract for a project.  In 2017, we were notified by Zurich of an alleged default triggered on a historical demolition surety performance bond in the aggregate amount of approximately $20 million for failure of the contractor to perform in accordance with the terms of a project. Zurich drew upon the letter of credit in the amount of $20.9 million. In order to fund the draw on the letter of credit, we had to increase the borrowings on our revolving credit facility. As the outstanding letters of credit previously reduced our availability under the revolving credit facility, this draw down on our letter of credit did not impact our liquidity or capital availability. However, in the future, other defaults (or alleged defaults) triggered under any of our surety bonds could have a material adverse effect on our  business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

Capital expenditures and other costs necessary to operate and maintain our vessels tend to increase with the age of the vessel and may also increase due to changes in governmental regulations, safety or other equipment standards, which could result in a decrease in our profits.

Capital expenditures and other costs necessary to operate and maintain our vessels tend to increase with the age of the vessel. Accordingly, it is likely that the operating costs of our vessels will increase.

The average age of our more significant vessels as of December 31, 2017, by equipment type, is as follows:

Remaining economic life has not been presented because it is not reasonably quantifiable because, to the extent that market conditions warrant the expenditures, we can prolong the vessels’ lives. In our domestic market, we operate in an industry where a significant portion of our competitors’ equipment is of a similar age. It is common in the dredging industry to make maintenance and capital expenditures in order to extend the economic life of equipment.

In addition, changes in governmental regulations, safety or other equipment standards, as well as compliance with standards imposed by maritime self-regulatory organizations, standards imposed by vessel classification societies and customer requirements or competition, may require us to make additional expenditures. For example, if the U.S. Coast Guard enacts new standards, we may be required to incur expenditures for alterations or the addition of new equipment (e.g. more fuel efficient engines). Other new standard

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requirements could be significant. In order to satisfy any such requirement, we may need to take our vessels out of service for extended periods of time, with corresponding losses of revenues.

We may experience equipment or mechanical failures, which could increase costs, reduce revenues and result in penalties for failure to meet project completion requirements.

The successful performance of contracts requires a high degree of reliability of our vessels, barges and other equipment. The average age of our marine fleet as of December 31, 2017 was 28 years. Breakdowns not only add to the costs of executing a project, but they can also delay the completion of subsequent contracts, which are scheduled to utilize the same assets. We operate a scheduled maintenance program in order to keep all assets in good working order, but despite this, breakdowns can and do occur and may result in loss of revenue.

We may not realize all of the expected benefits from our restructuring activities.

In October 2017, we announced that we were executing a restructuring plan that would allow us to focus on reducing debt, improving return on capital and enhancing our fleet (the “Restructuring Plan”). Actual total costs, savings, benefits and timing of the Restructuring Plan may vary from our estimates. We therefore cannot ensure that we will achieve the targeted savings or other benefits. Numerous factors may limit the extent to which the anticipated benefits are realized. Unanticipated costs or unrealized savings in connection with the Restructuring Plan could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition, as well as our likelihood of realizing, and the amount of, expected restructuring charges to be realized in connection with the Restructuring Plan.

Our current business strategy may include acquisitions which present certain risks and uncertainties. There are integration and consolidation risks associated with acquisitions. Future acquisitions may result in significant transaction expenses, unexpected liabilities and risks associated with entering new markets, and we may be unable to profitably operate these businesses.

We may seek business acquisition activities as a means of broadening our offerings and capturing additional market opportunities by our business units. We may be exposed to certain additional risks resulting from these activities. Acquisitions may expose us to operational challenges and risks, including:

We may not have the appropriate management, financial or other resources needed to integrate any businesses that we acquire. Any future acquisitions may result in significant transaction expenses and unexpected liabilities.

We may in the future incur liabilities in connection with the disposition of our historical demolition business.

On April 24, 2014, the Company announced that it had completed the sale of its historical demolition business. In connection with the sale, the Company retained responsibility for various pre-closing liabilities and obligations and may incur costs and expenses related to these items and asset recoveries. It is possible that claims, which could be material, could be made against the Company pursuant to the agreement pursuant to which the Company’s historical demolition business was sold. In connection with the sale of our

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historical demolition business, we were obligated to keep in place the surety bonds on pending demolition projects for the period required under the respec tive contract for a project. As noted above, if there should be a default (or alleged default) triggered under any of such surety bonds, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to obtain bonds and on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

Our realignment, integration, and divestiture activities may not be sufficient to bring our environmental & infrastructure segment back to profitability and could affect our project resourcing capabilities.

We acquired Terra in December 2012 and Magnus in November 2014. In 2015, we initiated activities in the environmental & infrastructure segment to align costs with anticipated revenues and improve project execution. These realignment activities continued in 2016 and culminated in the divestiture of certain assets associated with the service lines of the Terra unit. There can be no assurance that we will meet our cost reduction goals, although we currently believe that we will, or that our goals were aggressive enough in the context of the segment’s needs to reduce expenses. Moreover, we may lose key personnel during the process and that could have a negative impact on our ability to deliver projects and, consequently, on our results of operations. In addition, following the divestiture, the Company retained responsibility for various pre-closing liabilities and obligations and may incur costs and expenses related to these items. In connection with the divestiture, the Company retained responsibility for the collection of certain accounts receivable and work in progress that, if uncollected, may have a negative effect on the Company’s cash flows or financial condition.

We continue to remain subject to risks and uncertainties associated with the environmental & infrastructure segment and the incurrence of additional indebtedness to fund the Magnus acquisition. There could be additional delays, disruptions or other unexpected challenges that arise in connection with our realignment activities which could make it difficult to realize the expected benefits of the acquisitions. We currently have a substantial amount of indebtedness, and if the environmental & infrastructure segment does not generate the earnings or cash flow we expect, our liquidity and ability to continue to service our indebtedness could be adversely impacted. There can be no assurance that we may not discover information that could affect our expectations of the environmental & infrastructure segment’s ability to generate earnings and cash flow on a going forward basis. If the environmental & infrastructure segment’s future results are different from the historical results provided to us during the acquisition process, our results of operations or liquidity could be adversely affected.

Moreover, although we completed the acquisitions because we believe that they will be beneficial to us and our stockholders, there is no assurance that we will be able to realign or integrate the operations of the environmental & infrastructure segment into our operations and achieve these benefits without encountering unexpected difficulties, including unanticipated costs, difficulty in retaining customers, challenges associated with information technology integration and failure to retain key employees.

We could face liabilities and/or damage to our reputation as a result of certain legal and regulatory proceedings.

From time to time, we are subject to legal and regulatory proceedings in the ordinary course of our business. These include proceedings relating to aspects of our businesses that are specific to us and proceedings that are typical in the businesses in which we operate. We are currently a defendant in a number of litigation matters, including those described in Item 3. “Legal Proceedings” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In certain of these matters, the plaintiffs are seeking large and/or indeterminate amounts of damages. These matters are subject to many uncertainties, and it is possible that some of these matters could ultimately be decided, resolved or settled adversely to the Company. An adverse outcome in a legal or regulatory matter could, depending on the facts, have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

In addition to its potential financial impact, legal and regulatory matters can have a significant adverse reputational impact. Allegations of improper conduct made by private litigants or regulators, whether the ultimate outcome is favorable or unfavorable to us, as well as negative publicity and press speculation about us, whether valid or not, may harm our reputation, which may be damaging to our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

Our current business strategy includes the construction of new vessels. There are substantial uncertainties associated with such construction, including the possibility of unforeseen delays and cost overruns.

We have previously disclosed our plans to build new vessels, including an ATB trailing suction hopper dredge, which is now in full operation. As the Company previously disclosed, the ATB experienced some delays in operation due to mechanical issues involving the port side gearbox. Although the ATB is now in operation, other unknown mechanical or engineering issues involving the ATB, or other mechanical or engineering issues involving other new vessels, could adversely affect the Company’s business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition. Our future revenues and profitability will also be impacted to some extent by our ability to secure financing for new vessels and bring them into service within the timeline anticipated by the Company. The Company contracts with shipyards to build new vessels and currently has vessels under construction. Construction projects are subject to risks of delay and cost overruns, resulting from shortages of equipment, materials and skilled labor; lack of shipyard availability; unforeseen design and engineering problems; work stoppages; weather interference; unanticipated cost increases; unscheduled delays in the delivery of material and equipment; and financial and other difficulties at shipyards including labor disputes, shipyard insolvency and

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inability to obtain necessary certifications and approvals. A significant delay in the construction of new vessels or a shi pyard’s inability to perform under the construction contract could negatively impact the Company’s ability to fulfill contract commitments and to realize timely revenues with respect to vessels under construction. Significant cost overruns or delays for ve ssels under construction could also adversely affect the Company’s business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition. Changes in governmental regulations, safety or other equipment standards, as well as compliance with standards imposed by mar itime self-regulatory organizations and customer requirements or competition, could also substantially increase the cost of such construction beyond what we currently expect such costs to be.

We may become liable for the obligations of our joint ventures, partners and subcontractors.

Some of our projects are performed through joint ventures and similar arrangements with other parties. In addition to the usual liability of contractors for the completion of contracts and the warranty of our work, if work is performed through a joint venture or similar arrangement, we also have potential liability for the work performed by the joint venture or arrangement or a performance or payment default by another member of the joint venture or arrangement. In these projects, even if we satisfactorily complete our project responsibilities within budget, we may incur additional unforeseen costs due to the failure of the other party or parties to the arrangement to perform or complete work, fund expenditures, or make payments in accordance with contract specifications. In some joint ventures and similar arrangements, we may not be the controlling member. In these cases, we may have limited control over the actions of the joint venture. In addition, joint ventures or arrangements may not be subject to the same requirements regarding internal controls and internal control over financial reporting that we follow. To the extent the controlling member makes decisions that negatively impact the joint venture or arrangement or internal control problems arise within the joint venture or arrangement, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

Depending on the nature of work required to complete the project, we may choose to subcontract a portion of the project. In our industries, the prime contractor is often responsible for the performance of the entire contract, including subcontract work. Thus, we are subject to the risk associated with the failure of one or more subcontractors to perform as anticipated. In addition, in some cases, we pay our subcontractors before our customers pay us for the related services. If we choose, or are required, to pay our subcontractors for work performed for customers who fail to pay, or delay paying us for the related work, we could experience a material decrease in profitability and liquidity.

Environmental regulations could force us to incur capital and operational costs.

Our industries, and more specifically, our operations, facilities and vessels and equipment, are subject to various environmental laws and regulations relating to, among other things: dredging operations; the disposal of dredged material; protection of wetlands; storm water and waste water discharges; environmental and infrastructure activities; asbestos removal; transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes and other regulated materials; air emissions; and disposal or remediation of contaminated soil, sediments, surface water and groundwater. We are also subject to laws designed to protect certain marine or land species and habitats. Compliance with these statutes and regulations can delay permitting and/or performance of particular projects and increase related project costs. These delays and increased costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition. Non-compliance can also result in fines, penalties and claims by third parties seeking damages for alleged personal injury, as well as damages to property and natural resources.

Certain environmental laws such as the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 impose strict and, under some circumstances, joint and several, liability on owners and lessees of land and facilities as well as owners and operators of vessels. Such obligations may include investigation and remediation of releases and discharges of regulated materials, and also impose liability for related damages to natural resources. Our past and ongoing operations, particularly the environmental and remediation operations of Terra and Magnus, involve the use, and from time to time the release or discharge, of regulated materials which could result in liability under these and other environmental laws. We have remediated known releases and discharges as deemed necessary, but there can be no guarantee that additional costs will not be incurred if, for example, third party claims arise or new conditions are discovered.

Our projects may involve excavation, remediation, demolition, transportation, management and disposal of hazardous waste and other regulated materials. Various laws strictly regulate the removal, treatment and transportation of hazardous waste and other regulated materials and impose liability for human health effects and environmental contamination caused by these materials. Our environmental and infrastructure business conducted by Terra and Magnus, for example, requires us to transport and dispose of hazardous substances and other wastes, such as asbestos. Services rendered in connection with hazardous substance and material removal and site development may involve professional judgments by licensed experts about the nature of soil conditions and other physical conditions, including the extent to which hazardous substances and materials are present, and about the probable effect of procedures to mitigate problems or otherwise affect those conditions. If the judgments and the recommendations based upon those judgments are incorrect, we may be liable for resulting damages, which may be material. The failure of certain contractual protections to protect us from incurring such liability, such as staying out of the ownership chain for hazardous waste and other regulated

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materials and securing indemnification obligations from our customers or subcontractors, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, revenues or profits.

Environmental requirements have generally become more stringent over time, for example in the areas of air emissions controls for vessels and ballast treatment and handling. New or stricter enforcement of existing laws, the discovery of currently unknown conditions or accidental discharges of regulated materials in the future could cause us to incur additional costs for environmental matters which might be significant.

Uncertainty regarding fiscal, immigration, and other policies of the current U.S. Presidential administration or the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may adversely affect our business.

The current U.S. Presidential administration has called for changes to fiscal, immigration and other policies, which may include changes to infrastructure spending.  We cannot predict the impact, if any, of these changes to our business. Until we know what changes are enacted and when, we will not know whether in total we benefit from, or are negatively affected by, such changes. In addition, the Company may not realize any expected benefits associated with, and could be negatively impacted by, final implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Our business could suffer in the event of a work stoppage by our unionized labor force.

We are a party to numerous collective bargaining agreements in the U.S. that govern our industry’s relationships with our unionized hourly workforce. However, two unions represent approximately 70% of our hourly dredging employees—the International Union of Operating Engineers (“IUOE”), Local 25 and the Seafarers International Union. The Company’s contracts with IUOE, Local 25 expire in September 2018. Our agreements with Seafarers International Union expire in February 2023. The inability to successfully renegotiate contracts with these unions as they expire, or any future strikes, employee slowdowns or similar actions by one or more unions could have a material adverse effect on our ability to operate our business.

Our employees are covered by federal laws that may provide seagoing employees remedies for job-related claims in addition to those provided by state laws.

Substantially all of our maritime employees are covered by provisions of the Jones Act, the U.S. Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, the Seaman’s Wage Act and general maritime law. These laws typically operate to make liability limits established by state workers’ compensation laws inapplicable to these employees and to permit these employees and their representatives to pursue actions against employers for job-related injuries in federal or state courts. Because we are not generally protected by the limits imposed by state workers’ compensation statutes with respect to our seagoing employees, we have greater exposure for claims made by these employees as compared to industries whose employees are not covered by these provisions.

Our business is subject to significant operating risks and hazards that could result in damage or destruction to persons or property, which could result in losses or liabilities to us.

The dredging and environmental and infrastructure businesses are generally subject to a number of risks and hazards, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, encountering unusual or unexpected geological formations, cave-ins below water levels, collisions, disruption of transportation services and flooding. These risks could result in personal injury, damage to, or destruction of, dredges, barges transportation vessels, other maritime vessels, other structures, buildings or equipment, environmental damage, performance delays, monetary losses or legal liability to third parties. We may also be exposed to disruption of our operations, early termination of projects, unanticipated recovery costs and loss of use of our equipment that may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

Our safety record is an important consideration for our customers. Some of our customers require that we maintain certain specified safety record guidelines to be eligible to bid for contracts with these customers. Furthermore, contract terms may provide for automatic termination or forfeiture of some of our contract revenue in the event that our safety record fails to adhere to agreed-upon guidelines during performance of the contract. As a result, if serious accidents or fatalities occur or our safety record was to deteriorate, we may be ineligible to bid on certain work, and existing contracts could be terminated or less profitable than expected. Adverse experience with hazards and claims could have a negative effect on our reputation with our existing or potential new customers and our prospects for future work.

Our methods of accounting for recognizing revenue involve significant estimates and could result in a change in previously recorded revenue and profit.

We recognize revenue on our projects using generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) including the percentage-of-completion method prior to December 31, 2017 and guidance from Revenue from Contracts with Customers, as amended (commonly referred to as ASC 606) subsequent to year-end. The majority of our work is performed on a fixed-price basis. Contract revenue is recorded over time based on estimates which we develop from information known to us at the time of recording,

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but which may change. The c umulative impact of revisions to estimates is reflected in the period in which these changes are experienced or become known. Given the risks associated with the variables in these types of estimates, it is possible for actual costs to vary from estimates previously made, which may result in reductions or reversals of previously recorded net revenues and profits.

Our current insurance coverage may not be adequate, and we may not be able to obtain insurance at acceptable rates, or at all.

We maintain various insurance policies, including hull and machinery, pollution liability, general liability and personal injury. We partially self-insure risks covered by our policies. While we reserve for such self-insured exposures when appropriate for accounting purposes, we are not required to, and do not, specifically set aside funds for the self-insured portion of claims. We may not have insurance coverage or sufficient insurance coverage for all exposures potentially arising from a project.  Furthermore, in situations where there is insurance coverage, if multiple policies are involved, we may be subject to a number of self-retention or deductible amounts which in the aggregate could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition. At any given time, we are subject to Jones Act personal injury claims and claims from general contractors and other third parties for personal injuries. Our insurance policies may not be adequate to protect us from liabilities that we incur in our business. We may not be able to obtain similar levels of insurance on reasonable terms, or at all. Our inability to obtain such insurance coverage at acceptable rates or at all could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

We could face adverse consequences if we are unable to attract and retain key personnel and skilled labor.

Our ability to attract and retain reliable, qualified personnel is a significant factor that enables us to successfully bid for and profitably complete our work. This includes members of our board of directors, management, project managers, estimators, skilled engineers, supervisors, foremen, equipment operators and laborers. The loss of the services of any of our management could have a material adverse effect on us. If we do not succeed in retaining our current key employees and attracting, developing and retaining new highly-skilled employees, our reputation may be harmed and our operations and future earnings may be negatively impacted. We may not be able to maintain an adequate skilled labor force necessary to operate efficiently and to support our growth strategy. We have from time to time experienced, and may in the future experience, shortages of certain types of qualified equipment operating personnel. The supply of experienced engineers, project managers, field supervisors and other skilled workers may not be sufficient to meet current or expected demand. If we are unable to hire employees with the requisite skills, we may also be forced to incur significant training expenses. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

In addition, any abrupt changes in our management or board of directors may lead to concerns regarding the direction or stability of our business, which may be exploited by our competitors, result in the loss of business opportunities, cause concern to our current or potential customers or suppliers, or make it more difficult to retain existing personnel or attract and retain new personnel. Changes in management or the board could be time-consuming, result in significant additional costs to us and could be disruptive of our operations and divert the time and attention of management and our employees away from our business operations and executing on our strategic plan. The unexpected loss of any additional members of our Board of Directors or senior management team could be disruptive to our operations, jeopardize our ability to raise additional funding and have an adverse effect on our business. The failure of our directors or any new members of our Board of Directors or management to perform effectively could have a significant negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on information technology systems to conduct our business and disruption, failure or security breaches of these systems could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We rely on information technology (IT) systems in order to achieve our business objectives. Our portfolio of hardware and software products, solutions and services and our enterprise IT systems may be vulnerable to damage or disruption caused by circumstances beyond our control such as catastrophic events, power outages, natural disasters, computer system or network failures, computer viruses, cyber attacks or other malicious software programs. The failure or disruption of our IT systems to perform as anticipated for any reason could disrupt our business and result in decreased performance, significant remediation costs, transaction errors, loss of data, processing inefficiencies, downtime, failure to properly estimate the work or costs associated with projects, litigation and the loss of customers or suppliers. A significant disruption or failure could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition. We are incurring costs associated with designing and implementing a new enterprise resource planning software system (ERP) with the objective of gradually migrating to the new system. Capital expenditures and expenses for the ERP for 2018 and beyond will depend upon the pace of conversion. If implementation is not executed successfully, this could result in business interruptions. If we do not complete the implementation of the ERP timely and successfully, we may incur additional costs associated with completing this project and a delay in our ability to improve existing operations, support future growth and enable us to take advantage of new engineering and other applications and technologies.

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We may be affected by market or regulatory responses to climate change.

Increased concern about the potential impact of greenhouse gases (GHG), such as carbon dioxide resulting from combustion of fossil fuels, on climate change has resulted in efforts to regulate their emission. Legislation, international protocols, regulation or other restrictions on GHG emissions could also affect our customers. Such legislation or restrictions could increase the costs of projects for our customers or, in some cases, prevent a project from going forward, thereby potentially reducing the need for our services which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition. Additionally, in our normal course of operations, we use a significant amount of fossil fuels. The costs of controlling our GHG emissions or obtaining required emissions allowances in response to any regulatory change in our industry could increase materially.

We may be unable to identify and contract with qualified Minority Business Enterprise (“MBE”) or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) contractors to perform as subcontractors.

Certain of our government agency projects contain goals for minimum MBE and/or DBE participation clauses. If we subsequently fail to reach our goals for the minimum MBE and/or DBE participation, we may be held responsible for breach of contract, which may include restrictions on our ability to bid on future projects as well as monetary damages. To the extent we are responsible for monetary damages, the total costs of the project could exceed our original estimates, we could experience reduced profits or a loss for that project and there could be a material adverse impact to our financial position, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity.

Risks Related to our Financing

We have indebtedness, which makes us more vulnerable to adverse economic and competitive conditions.

We currently have a substantial amount of indebtedness. As of (i) December 31, 2017, we had indebtedness of $420.0 million, consisting of $325.0 million of our senior subordinated notes and $95.0 million of borrowings on our revolving credit facility, in each case excluding approximately $34.3 million of undrawn letters of credit and $76.8 million of additional borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility and excluding contingent obligations, including $1.3 billion of performance bonds outstanding under the Company’s Zurich Bonding Agreement and agreements with the Sureties. Our debt could:

We and our subsidiaries also may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The terms of our revolving credit facility, the indenture under which our senior subordinated notes are issued, and our term loan facility limit, but do not prohibit, us or our subsidiaries from incurring additional indebtedness. If new indebtedness is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we and our subsidiaries now face could intensify.

Covenants in our financing arrangements limit, and other future financing agreements may limit, our ability to operate our business.

The credit agreement governing our senior revolving credit facility, the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes and any of our other future financing agreements, may contain covenants imposing operating and financial restrictions on our business.

For example, the credit agreement governing our senior revolving credit facility requires us to satisfy certain net leverage and fixed charge coverage ratios. If we fail to meet or satisfy any of these covenants (after applicable cure periods), we would be in default and the lenders (through the administrative agent or collateral agent, as applicable) could elect to declare all amounts outstanding to be immediately due and payable, enforce their interests in the collateral pledged/or and restrict our ability to make additional borrowings, as applicable. The covenants and restrictions in the credit agreement, the indenture and the term loan facility, subject to specified exceptions and to varying degrees, restrict our ability to, among other things:

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These restrictions may interfere with our ability to obtain financings or to engage in other business activities, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

Adverse capital and credit market conditions may affect our ability to meet liquidity needs, access to capital and cost of capital.

The domestic and worldwide capital and credit markets may experience significant volatility, disruptions and dislocations with respect to price and credit availability. Should we need additional funds or to refinance our existing indebtedness, we may not be able to obtain such additional funds.

We need liquidity to pay our operating expenses, interest on our debt and dividends on our capital stock. Without sufficient liquidity, we will be forced to curtail our operations, and our business will suffer. The principal sources of our liquidity are cash flow from operations and borrowings under our senior revolving credit facility. Earnings from our operations and our working capital requirements can vary significantly from period to period based primarily on the mix of our projects underway and the percentage of project work completed during the period. Capital expenditures may also vary significantly from period to period. While we manage cash requirements for working capital and capital expenditure needs, unpredictability in cash collections and payments has required us in the past and may require us to borrow on our line of credit from time to time to meet the needs of our operations.

In the event these resources do not satisfy our liquidity needs, we may have to seek additional financing. The availability of additional financing will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, the general availability of credit, the volume of trading activities, our credit ratings and credit capacity, as well as the possibility that customers or lenders could develop a negative perception of our long- or short-term financial prospects if the level of our business activity decreased due to a market downturn. If internal sources of liquidity prove to be insufficient, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms, or at all.

We may be unable to maintain or expand our credit capacity, which would adversely affect our operations and business.

We use credit facilities to support our working capital and acquisition needs. If we exhaust our borrowing capacity under our Credit Agreement, and cash flows from operations do not increase sufficiently, our ability to fund the working capital, capital expenditure and other needs of our existing operations could be constrained and our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.  If we experience operational difficulties or our operating results do not improve, we may need to increase our available borrowing capacity or seek amendments to the terms of our Credit Agreement. There can be no assurance that we will be able to secure any additional capacity or amendment to our Credit Agreement or to do so on terms that are acceptable to us, in which case, our costs of borrowing could rise and our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Regulatory requirements for derivative transactions could have an adverse impact on our ability to hedge risks associated with our business.

We may enter into interest rate swap agreements to manage the interest rate paid with respect to our fixed rate indebtedness, foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge currency risk and heating oil commodity swap contracts to hedge the risk that fluctuation s in diesel fuel prices will have an adverse impact on cash flows associated with our domestic dredging contracts. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) and regulations adopted by a number of U.S. federal regulatory agencies created a comprehensive statutory and regulatory framework for derivative transactions, including foreign currency and other over-the-counter derivative hedging transactions. While a number of provisions of Dodd-Frank have been implemented, certain key provisions have not yet been implemented or remain subject to uncertainty.  Furthermore, certain provisions of Dodd-Frank may be modified or repealed in the future.  Any substantial change in the financial regulatory environment could create additional new compliance costs for us or cause us to alter the manner in which we manage risk, which could have a materially adverse effect on our business. The rules adopted or to be adopted under Dodd-Frank may significantly reduce our ability to execute

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strateg ic hedges to manage our interest expense, reduce our fuel commodity uncertainty and hedge our currency risk thus protecting our cash flows. In addition, the banks and other derivatives dealers who are our contractual counterparties are required to comply w ith extensive regulation under Dodd-Frank . The cost of our counterparties’ compliance will likely be passed on to customers such as ourselves, thus potentially decreasing the benefits to us of hedging transactions and potentially reducing our profitability .

We may be subject to foreign exchange risks, and improper management of that risk could result in large cash losses.

We are exposed to market risk associated with changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The primary foreign currencies to which the Company has exposure are the Bahraini dinar and the Brazilian real. Our international contracts may be denominated in foreign currencies, which will result in additional risk of fluctuating currency values and exchange rates, hard currency shortages and controls on currency exchange. Changes in the value of foreign currencies could increase our U.S. dollar costs for, or reduce our U.S. dollar revenues from, our foreign operations. Any increased costs or reduced revenues as a result of foreign currency fluctuations could affect our profits. The value of the Bahraini dinar has historically been pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar, which has effectively eliminated the foreign currency risk with respect to that currency. However, if the Bahraini dinar were no longer to be so pegged, whether due to civil unrest in Bahrain or otherwise, the Company could become subject to additional, and substantial, foreign currency risk.

Changes in macroeconomic indicators, the overall business climate, and other factors could lead to our goodwill and other intangible assets becoming impaired, which may require us to take significant non-cash charges against earnings.

Under current accounting guidelines, we must assess, at least annually and potentially more frequently, whether the value of our goodwill and other intangible assets have been impaired. Any impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets as a result of such analysis would result in a non-cash charge against earnings, which charge could materially adversely affect our business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition. We test goodwill annually for impairment in the third quarter of each year, or more frequently should circumstances dictate. A significant and sustained decline in our future cash flows, a significant adverse change in the economic environment, slower growth rates or our stock price falling below our net book value per share for a sustained period could result in the need to perform additional impairment analysis in future periods. If we were to conclude that a future write-down of goodwill or other intangible assets is necessary, then we would be required to record a non-cash charge against earnings, which, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.

We have made and may continue to make debt or equity investments in privately financed projects in, or may accept extended payment terms for, privately financed projects in which we could sustain significant losses.

We have participated and may continue to participate in privately financed projects that enable state and local governments and other customers to finance dredging, environmental and infrastructure projects, such as dredging of local navigable waterways and lakes, coastal protection and environmental and infrastructure projects. These projects typically include the facilitation of non-recourse financing and the provision of dredging, environmental, infrastructure, and related services. We may incur contractually reimbursable costs and may accept extended payment terms, extend debt financing and/or make an equity investment in an entity prior to, in connection with, or as part of project financing, and in some cases we may be the sole or primary source of the project financing. Project financing may also involve the use of real estate, environmental, wetlands or similar credits. If a project is unable to obtain other financing on terms acceptable to it in amounts sufficient to repay or redeem our investments, we could incur losses on our investments and any related contractual receivables. After completion of these projects, the return on our equity investments can be dependent on the operational success of the project and market factors or sale of the aforementioned credits, which may not be under our control. As a result, we could sustain a loss of part or all of our equity investments in such projects or have to recognize the value of the credits at a lower amount than expected in the contract bid.

Risks Related to our Stock

Our common stock is subject to restrictions on foreign ownership.

We are subject to government regulations pursuant to the Dredging Act, the Jones Act, the Shipping Act and the vessel documentation laws set forth in Chapter 121 of Title 46 of the United States Code. These statutes require vessels engaged in the transport of merchandise or passengers or dredging in the navigable waters of the U.S. to be owned and controlled by U.S. citizens. The U.S. citizenship ownership and control standards require the vessel-owning entity to be at least 75% U.S.-citizen owned. Our certificate of incorporation contains provisions limiting non-citizenship ownership of our capital stock. If our board of directors determines that persons who are not citizens of the U.S. own more than 22.5% of our outstanding capital stock or more than 22.5% of our voting power, we may redeem such stock. The required redemption price could be materially different from the current price of our common stock or the price at which the non-citizen acquired the common stock. If a non-citizen purchases our common stock, there can be no assurance that he will not be required to divest the shares and such divestiture could result in a material loss. Such restrictions and redemption rights may make our equity securities less attractive to potential investors, which may result in our common stock having a lower market price than it might have in the absence of such restrictions and redemption rights.

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Delaware law and  our charter documents may impede or discourage a takeover that you may consider favorable.

The provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may deter, delay or prevent a third-party from acquiring us. These provisions include:

We are also subject to the protections of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prevents us from engaging in a business combination with a person who acquires at least 15% of our common stock for a period of three years from the date such person acquired such common stock, unless board or stockholder approval was obtained.

These provisions could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company, discourage others from making tender offers for our shares, lower the market price of our stock or impede the ability of our stockholders to change our management, even if such changes would be beneficial to our stockholders.

Our stockholders may not receive dividends because of restrictions in our debt agreements, Delaware law and state regulatory requirements.

Our ability to pay dividends is restricted by the agreements governing our debt, including our Credit Agreement, our bonding agreements and the indenture governing our senior unsecured notes. In addition, under Delaware law, our board of directors may not authorize payment of a dividend unless it is either paid out of our surplus, as calculated in accordance with the Delaware General Corporation Law, or, if we do not have a surplus, it is paid out of our net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year. To the extent we do not have adequate surplus or net profits, we will be prohibited from paying dividends.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, and this may make it difficult for holders to resell our common stock when they want or at prices that they find attractive.

The price of our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market constantly changes. We expect that the market price of our common stock will continue to fluctuate. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include:

In addition, in recent years, global stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant effect on the market price of securities issued by many companies for reasons often unrelated to their operating

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performance. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating results.

Volatility in the financial markets could cause a decline in our stock price, which could trigger an impairment of the goodwill of individual reporting units that could be material to our consolidated financial statements. A significant drop in the price of our stock could also expose us to the risk of securities class action lawsuits, which could result in substantial costs and divert management's attention and resources, which could adversely affect our business. Additionally, volatility or a lack of positive performance in our stock price may adversely affect our ability to retain key employees, many of whom are awarded equity securities, the value of which is dependent on the performance of our stock price.