Weekly News Summary For February 25 - March 2, 2008:
Mike Ryan, currently the senior vice president-sales and marketing of American Commercial Lines Inc., will become the company’s president and chief executive officer effective March 1.
He succeeds Mark Holden, whose three-year employment contract with ACL expired in January. Officials of the Jeffersonville, Ind., company said that Holden told the firm’s board of directors at that time that he wanted to pursue other opportunities.
Ryan will also fill Holden’s seat on the board of directors.
Ryan has 27 years of experience in the transportation industry, with assignments in the truck, Class 1 rail and barge sectors. He has held senior leadership positions in all of these units, including top positions directing several commercial business units with CSX Transportation. Since joining ACL in 2005, he has designed the company’s shift toward a stronger, more reliable portfolio base, ACL said in announcing his promotion. Ryan built a new sales and customer service program over the past two years, which is focusing on business retention and organic growth, expanding ACL’s market share in more ratable lines of business.
“I’m excited to take the reins, excited about the opportunities ahead for American Commercial Lines,” he said during a conference call with investors February 19….
The Corps of Engineers announced it will dredge the Baptiste Collette waterway to allow marine traffic to bypass the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (Industrial Canal) Lock in New Orleans during the scheduled maintenance this spring.
The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC) Lock is a vital connection for barge traffic moving between the Mississippi River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) to the east.
Corps plans are to dewater the lock to do maintenance work that “will improve the reliability of the lock,” said the Corps in its Task Force Hope Status Report, issued February 15. Work is expected to take 60 days on the 80-year old lock.
Previous reports said the Baptiste Collette channel had silted to about seven feet.
Traffic moving between the Mississippi River and the GIWW eastbound can go downriver to the Baptiste Collette and pick up the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) back to the GIWW….
The captain of the port of New Orleans (COTP) announced he intends to implement an unannounced drill, part of National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) guidelines for all facility response plan holders.
Capt. Lincoln Stroh, COTP in New Orleans, made the announcement in a Marine Safety Bulletin (MSB) February 1. The PREP drills are for all facilities that are subject to government initiated unannounced exercises mandated by the Oil Pollution Act, known as OPA-90.
The scope of the exercise will involve response to an average most-probable discharge scenario and involve equipment deployment to respond to the spill scenario, it said.
The drill will be held on an undisclosed date between March and December of 2008….
Tank barge giant Kirby Inland Marine recently took delivery of the Capt. Bill English, the first of 12 new 76- by 35- by 10-foot pushboats, from Raymond & Associates LLC of Bayou la Batre, Ala.
The distinctive lines of the new series of boats were designed jointly by Kirby engineers and Ray LaForce of Raymond & Associates, working in conjunction with naval architectural firm CT Marine. The design features a split console made by Engine Monitor Inc. in the wheelhouse, giving pilots excellent visibility, particularly forward and aft through the floor-to-ceiling window with a 32-foot eye level (See WJ, February 11).
Kirby kept the wide beam that was featured on its successful 95-foot boats.
“The extra beam allows us to operate these boats without having to carry fuel or lube in the side wing tanks, plus it makes it a little nicer for the crews with the added cabin space. Then we add Internet access and flat screen TV with surround sound for the crews,” said Kirby’s Mark Davis, who was project coordinator at the shipyard.
As on-board comfort increasingly plays a bigger role in crew endurance and retention, Kirby designed the boat with an office/computer station in the galley area on the port side so crews can e-mail and have Internet access….
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.)
