Weekly News Summary for February 5-11, 2007:

Agreement Brings New River Port To Rockport, Ind.

Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) extended exclusive rights to Mid America Terminals (MAT) to purchase 600 acres of its Rockport, Ind., site for a multi-commodity river port along the Ohio River.

“It has the potential to be one of the largest and most active river ports between Pittsburgh and St. Louis,” said Bruce Kanipe, president of Mid America Terminals. “The availability of rail, river and highway transportation makes this a prime site for development.”

The site is at Ohio River Mile 743 and 744, adjacent to I&M’s Rockport power plant and Grandview, Ind.

Mike Brian, communications manager with I&M, said part of the significance of the deal is the amount of land involved. I&M’s parent company is American Electric Power (AEP).

“We were able to offer Mid America 600 acres, and they have another 300 acres available,” Brian said. “So, there’s a lot of land there that’s suitable for development. It looks like an ideal situation for potential development.”

Kanipe also is president of Rockport Terminals, which operates a port adjacent to the new site, where they can load and offload break-bulk cargo.

“The site will include rail, it connects with three roadways that allow access to a new four-lane highway, Highway 231, which crosses the river on a new bridge,” he said. “We’ll design it to have unit rail capacity in excess of 150 cars, which is unheard of along inland waterways.”…

More Marine Industry Jobs Coming To Paducah

As many as 130 new marine industry jobs will be offered to prospective employees in the Paducah, Ky., area, thanks to incentives approved by the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority January 25.

The Paducah Sun reported in its January 26 edition that two new James Marine Inc. barge and boat construction ventures were awarded state tax credit incentives worth $2 million, which will be applied toward construction costs of two new facilities. Jamesbuilt Specialty Vessel Construction was approved for $550,000 worth of incentives to help defray the cost of building a new 16,000-square-foot facility near its existing drydock and repair operations along the Tennessee River in Paducah. The paper said 40 jobs will be created within two years.

Construction and remodeling work commenced several weeks ago on an existing, unoccupied office complex adjacent to James’ current headquarters. The building, which served as the headquarters for the former Harcon Barge Company back in the 1980s, is next door to a recently renovated structure that now houses the relocated offices of Tennessee Valley Towing Inc., which James bought last year. All James Marine offices are currently located in the former Walker Towing Corporation facility, which James Marine purchased many years ago as it began its expansion into towing, shipyard and fueling services….

Coast Guard Seeks More Comments On Credentials

(Special to waterwaysjournal.net: Since the following article contains several lengthy Web links, it is published in its entirety here to allow readers easier access to the linked sites.)

The Coast Guard is seeking comments on a published Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) that the current merchant mariner STCW certificates, documents (MMDs) licenses and certificates of registry (COR) be replaced by a single MMC and used in conjunction with the TWIC.

“I urge you to look over these changes and proposals and make a comment to the open dockets with your views,” said Richard E. Wells, chief of the New Orleans Regional Examination Center. The deadline is April 25.

“The Coast Guard really does want and need your input,” he added. “Feel free to pass this along to others in the marine industry.” Changes to the original proposal have been made based on comments received.

Wells said the proposals are much too large to e-mail and provided Internet links. The proposal to combine licenses, documents and certificates into one MMC is at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/07-18.pdf.

The Coast Guard is seeking public input on which version or versions to implement. To comment go to https://dms.dot.gov/submit/ and use docket number USCG-2006-24371 after you select “Comments/Submissions” button at the top of the page.

The Coast Guard posted draft copies of several sample merchant mariner credentials:

• The MMC-STCW, for U.S. mariners who may sail foreign or otherwise need evidence of their STCW qualifications, http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf100/444405_web.pdf;



• The MMC-domestic, for U.S. mariners who don’t need evidence of or don’t have any STCW qualifications, http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf100/444404_web.pdf;



• The MCC-continuity, for mariners who want evidence of their continuity of capability, http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf100/444401_web.pdf. This document is not valid for service. This would replace the current continuity endorsement on a license or MMD and would avoid the need to hold a TWIC.



• The MMC-passport style, for U.S. mariners desiring a document compatible with a standard passport, http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf100/444400_web.pdf.

Hunter Marine Announces Major Terminal Expansion

Hunter Marine recently announced a major expansion project for its Nashville, Tenn., river terminal.

“We are happy to announce the addition of 10 acres of land adjacent to our present location,” said company president Ron Hunter “The additional acreage will be developed into a liquid storage facility with nearly 9 million gallons of capacity.”

The acquisition of the new property was finalized on December 27, 2006.

The first phase of the expansion will be the installation of seven 1.26-million-gallon tanks. Hunter says the tanks will be used to offload, store and distribute such liquid commodities as fertilizer, petroleum and chemicals. The company intends to construct pipelines through its present 22-acre facility to the tank farm.

“We feel like there is a definite need for these types of services in this area,” stated Hunter. The company is actively looking for customers who have these needs, as well, he said….

Terral RiverService Christens Third Boat From NewSouth

Terral RiverService continued to increase its presence on the Red River with the christening of the Renee T. Whatley at the Port of Alexandria (La.) on January 12.

Already the largest tenant at the port, Terral has scheduled the Renee T. Whatley to operate almost exclusively pushing six-barge tows on the Red River, which is experiencing growth since the waterway has been dredged to Shreveport, La. Cleco, the electrical co-op serving much of central and northern Louisiana, is already expanding its power plant on the river at Boyce, La.

The Renee T. Whatley, Terral’s 10th boat, is 73.5 by 28 feet and designed with an eight-foot draft, but can operate at 7-1/2 feet during low water on the Red River, said Johnny Martin, the company marine superintendent.

Caterpillar 3412-D engines, supplied by Thompson Power Systems of Greenwood, Miss., develop 1,300 hp. Service power is provided by John Deere 60 kw. generators from Magnolia Marine Transport Company, a division of Ergon.

It is the third of a four-boat contract for new builds at NewSouth Marine Construction of Greenville, Miss. The previous two boats were 3,000 hp. with 103- by- 32-foot dimensions.

“The Renee T. Whatley made three runs with barges and we were very pleased with the speed and power,” Martin told The Waterways Journal over a plate of jambalaya at a reception in a warehouse at the Port of Alexandria following the christening. “It pushes like it has 400 more horsepower.”…

WJ Editorial: Wind-Farm Activity Picks Up, Interest Grows

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