Weekly News Summary For January 14-20, 2008:
Last year in the inland waterways brought busy rivers, a construction boom, healthy freight rates and a new Water Resources Development Act. What will 2008 bring? Hopefully more of the same, say leaders from across the barge industry. The Waterways Journal spoke with a number of senior officials in towing companies, shipyards, ports, associations and others to find out what they see when they look into the proverbial crystal ball for 2008.
In short, they see new barges—maybe too many new barges. They see still more cargo moving. And they see the probability for a heavy new tax proposal to come down from Washington.
But first the good news….
Very few of the TWIC applicants I encountered at the Baton Rouge (La.) Safety Council office were actually “transportation workers.”
The Transportation Worker Identification Credential, known as the TWIC card, is mandated for persons wanting unescorted access to secure areas of facilities regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. TWIC is administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Most of the applicants I met were contractors working in construction and maintenance jobs at chemical plants along the Mississippi River, with an occasional outside accountant who did payroll work at the plants. There were no truck drivers, and only one other boat operator was encountered.
Baton Rouge was one of the first areas selected for implementation of the TWIC.
One applicant said he worked in a regulated chemical plant as the information technology analyst. He said he was the plant’s first applicant, so he could advise others in the plant how to complete the process. One of the biggest logjams he encounters, as an IT analyst at the plant, is having a worker remember his password to access the many computer programs, apply for benefits, and the like. The average worker remembers most passwords “for about two weeks,” he said.
Experts investigating the fatigue factor aboard towing vessels say crews operate at about 70 percent efficiency, and that this has been a factor in several high-profile accidents.
Several years ago, the Coast Guard implemented the 12-hour rule, making it illegal for wheelhouse personnel to be on watch more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period. Now the Coast Guard is expanding its understanding of the fatigue factor.
The Coast Guard, in a “safety partnership” with the American Waterways Operators (AWO), has been working for several years on a project called Crew Endurance Management System (CEMS) to address fatigue factors.
The initial program was an outgrowth of a program developed for the Army Special Forces and modified to address life aboard commercial vessels.
An initial pilot program was developed with major towing companies such as Ingram Barge Company, Kirby Inland Marine, Penn Maritime, AEP/MEMCO, American Commercial Lines and Blessey Marine participating.
“CEMS is based on science, and our clinical research asserts that if you follow CEMS, you’ll reduce the risk of an endurance-related accident,” explained a brochure produced by the Coast Guard….
State government officials and bridge engineers in November turned to maritime industry groups and the Seamen’s Church Institute for expert advice and simulation capabilities.
As engineers finalize plans for two bridges spanning the Ohio River between Indiana and Kentucky, they plan to work collaboratively with the maritime industry and utilize the Seamen’s Church Institute’s unique ability to create real-time river-based simulations.
Representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, PB Americas, Wilbur Smith Associates, Michael Baker Corporation, Community Transportation Solutions, the Ohio River Ice Committee and the Central Ohio River Marine Industry Group (CORMIG) gathered at SCI’s Paducah Center to study options. Using SCI’s computer-generated simulations, the participants studied vessel navigation in the area of the two new bridges.
The two bridges modeled for this study were the East End Bridge, to be located between Utica, Ind., and Prospect, Ky.; and the Downtown Bridge, which will span the Ohio River between downtown Louisville, Ky., and Jeffersonville, Ind. The proposed construction phases for each bridge were also visually simulated….
Campbell Transportation Company is planning to develop a 90-barge fleeting area on the left descending bank of Mile 309 on the Ohio River and has applied for permission to develop the site with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The public comment period expired January 4.
“Once the public comment period expires, we’ll have discussions with the Corps and have a public meeting. If we’re successful, we’d start on the development of the property as soon as this summer,” said Charles Minton, president of Campbell Transportation.
Campbell Transportation has been using other fleeting services in that area and wants to develop its own.
“I think it’s fair to say there will be an opportunity for additional jobs once we develop the fleeting area,” he said. “We are working on our targets right now as to what we’ll do with the fleeting area.”…
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