Weekly News Summary For February 12-18, 2007:
John Paul Woodley Jr., assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, disclosed February 5 that the Bush administration is getting ready to ask Congress to impose user fees on barges that use the inland and intracoastal waterways.
Speaking at a press conference to introduce the administration’s proposed fiscal year 2008 budget, which includes $4.87 billion in new federal funding for the civil works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Woodley said the administration will propose legislation to authorize the collection of user fees apart from the current 20 cents a gallon of diesel fuel imposed on the barge and towing industry.
“The existing (fuel) tax covers only about 10 percent of the total costs that the Corps incurs to make barge transportation possible on the inland waterways system,” Woodley said. “The proposed fee would promote the efficient use of the nation’s overall resources and require the commercial interests that benefit from federal capital investments on the waterways to carry more of the costs.”
Woodley said the user fees, like the current fuel tax, would be deposited in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund to finance 50 percent of the cost of inland waterway construction and rehabilitation projects. There was no hint from Woodley as to the level of fees contemplated by the administration. He said the user fees proposal would provide increased annual revenue to avoid depletion of the Trust Fund.
Elaborating, Woodley said that in the last four years, construction expenses reached about $400 million while collections into the Trust Fund have remained “constant or have decreased to about $90 million a year.” In the next few years, if that trend continues, he said, the Trust Fund “will be exhausted.” Since the fuel tax concept has “its limitations,” Woodley said, consideration is being given to a user fee, which he said would be discussed soon with members of the Inland Waterways Users Board. Woodley said the balance in the Trust Fund is now about $150 million, but by the time money is withdrawn for proposed fiscal 2008 projects the fund would be “uncomfortably close to zero.”…
The St. Louis Engineer District placed width limits on barge tows passing through Melvin Price Locks near Alton, Ill., February 7. Limits were tightened to an 89-foot maximum after the twin-screw towboat Olmstead, with a 12-barge tow, owned by Midland Enterprises, was caught in the 1,200-foot chamber at 11:30 p.m. the previous night.
The lock’s main chamber was reopened about 4 a.m. Wednesday.
The Corps had set a restriction earlier to 106 feet after the mv. John M. Rivers, owned by M/G Transport Services, was caught in the Melvin Price Locks and Dam about 5 a.m. February 3.
Tows southbound on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, carrying fully loaded barges of grain commodities for overseas export, will have to be reconfigured into two-wide tows as opposed to their original three-wide arrangements, which will reduce the number of barges that a single tow boat can push from 15 to 10.
The combination of ice building up at the Mississippi and Illinois River locks and decreasing water depths from St. Louis south, are being closely watched by the Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard, National Weather Service and navigation industry experts….
A barge burst into flames February 1 after it hit a railroad bridge in Vicksburg, Miss. The barge, FMT 5004, broke away from the tow of the 3,300 hp. mv. John Roberts and drifted about 11 miles downstream before it was corralled by the John Roberts.
Lt. Leon McClain couldn’t give an exact reading on the river stage when the accident occurred, but he did say the river stage was 36.85 feet at 8 a.m. on February 1. At 8 a.m. February 2, the river stage was 36.5 feet.
The downbound twin-screw towboat had four barges. The front of the barge, which hit the bridge, was engulfed, but not the whole barge. The other barges did not catch fire. The burning barge and the other three barges broke away after the leading barge hit the bridge, according to McClain.
Capt. Glenn Tillman, Leakesville, Miss., and his five-man crew on the mv. Bill McNeal were waiting for the John Roberts to cross under the bridge when the accident occurred at 9 p.m.
Tillman, 46, saw a plume of black smoke, and used channel 19 to contact Ergon Marine in Vicksburg.
“The river was on fire where the barge was burning. It looked like fire was going to hit my boat, so they sent another boat down to me, but the current diverted it (fire) off of me,” he said….
TECO Energy, Tampa, Fla., announced last week that it is considering the sale of its subsidiary TECO Transport. That firm is the parent of TECO Barge Line, Metropolis, Ill.; TECO Bulk Terminal at the mouth of the Mississippi River; and TECO Ocean Shipping, Tampa.
“Given the growth opportunities available to TECO Transport, we want to ensure that the business is best positioned to realize its potential in today’s transportation market,” stated TECO Energy chairman and chief executive officer Sherrill Hudson, in the company’s February 6 earnings announcement. “For this reason, among the alternatives we’re considering to address our capital priorities is a review of the options for the long-term future of TECO Transport, including its possible sale.
“This is an option that is not taken lightly, as TECO Transport has a long history as a solid and profitable performer in the TECO Energy family of companies,” Hudson said.
TECO Energy is committed to retiring $500 million of debt between 2008 and 2010, in addition to $357 million of debt maturing this year, Hudson said in the announcement. The company plans to make additional capital investments in its core business, Tampa Electric, he said….
American Commercial Lines Inc. reported an 18 percent revenue increase for the fourth quarter of 2006, and a 32 percent hike for the full year over previous-year levels.
Revenues for the fourth quarter were $265.9 million, up from $225.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2005. For the year, revenues were $942.6 million, up from $714.9 million in 2005.
Net income for the fourth quarter was $35 million or 56 cents per diluted share, up 307 percent from the 14 cents per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2005. For the year, net income was $92.3 million or $1.47 per diluted share, up 681 percent from the 2005 net income of $11.8 million or 24 cents per diluted share.
Results for the fourth quarter included a gain of $4.8 million (net of tax) or eight cents per diluted share on the sale of the company’s Venezuelan operations and a charge for the early retirement of debt of $0.9 million (net of tax) or one cent per diluted share related to the redemption of $10 million in face value of its 9 percent senior notes. Results for the fourth quarter of 2005 included charges for the early retirement of debt of $7.3 million (net of tax) or 12 cents per diluted share….
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced February 5 that President Bush had nominated Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp Jr. for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general and assignment as chief of engineers and commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Van Antwerp, who would succeed Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, is currently serving as the commanding general of the U.S. Army Accessions Command and deputy commanding general for initial military training (IMT), U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe, Va.
In a letter addressed to the “Corps family,” Strock noted that Van Antwerp had been nominated 52nd chief of engineers and that he expected the nominee to be considered by the Senate “in the near future.”
“Gen. Van Antwerp and I have served together for many years,” Strock said. “He is a caring and gifted leader with a strong sense of values and a tremendous breadth and depth of experience in the Army and the Corps. His previous service as a district and division commander makes him especially well-suited and qualified for this position.”…
The Waterways Journal encourages letters to the editor.
Have something on your mind?
Send letters to: jshoulberg@waterwaysjournal.net.
(Please indicate whether or not your letter is intended for publication.)
