Bucket sizes vary from 30 liters to 1200 liters. Rock bucket dredgers do have a double set of buckets; a small rock bucket and a bigger soft soil bucket.
Area of application
The maximum dredging depth depends on the size of the dredger. Bucket Ladder Dredgers with a maximum dredging depth of over the 30 m are built.
However for such dredgers the minimum dredging depth is almost 8 m.
Nowadays they are often used for dredging contaminated mud, because they can dig the soil under in situ density conditions.
The Bucket Ladder Dredge can not apply under offshore conditions and is certainly an obstruction for shipping. Compared to hydraulic dredgers, its production is rather low.