Weekly News Summary For April 5 - 11, 2010:
The Intracoastal Waterways was briefly closed March 25 while Coast Guard crews responded to a tank barge explosion at Superior Crude docks in Ingleside, Texas.
The captain of a passing towboat called Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi at 3:12 p.m. to report that he had just witnessed an explosion powerful enough to blow out his pilothouse windows.
Two men, reported to have been welding on the barge by one news source, were treated and released, according to the Coast Guard. A third man was rescued by bystanders after being thrown into the water by the blast, according to local news sources.
Coast Guard Station Port Aransas sent a 25-foot and a 45-foot response boat, whose crews secured the area and assisted with recovery efforts. Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi launched an HH-65C Dolphin helicopter to survey the damage….
A collision between two towing vessels near St. Joseph, La., about 30 miles south of Vicksburg, caused Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River to close the river for 12 hours between Mile 407 and Mile 197.
The river was reopened after the Coast Guard determined that there was no navigation hazard from a sunken barge loaded with scrap steel in 80-foot waters. Another barge carrying pet coke drifted free, but was recovered by the Dixie Leader.
No injuries or pollution resulted from the collision between the Hank Tulodzieski and Tiny Sanderson. The twin-screw Hank Tulodzieski, built in 1955 by Dravo Corporation and repowered to 7,200 hp. in 1983, is operated by AEP River Operations LLC of Chesterfield, Mo….
Lewis & Clark Marine Inc., Granite City, Ill., has filed plans with the Corps of Engineers to construct three barge fleets on the left descending bank of the Mississippi River across from St. Louis.
One fleeting area, called the “Queen Fleet,” is proposed at Mile 180, immediately downstream of Eads Bridge; the site was formerly occupied by the Casino Queen gaming vessel. The other two fleets would be at about Mile 180.5, immediately upstream of the Martin Luther King Bridge, and would be called “King Fleet No. 1” and “King Fleet No. 2.”
King Fleet No. 1 would have a maximum capacity of 25 barges, in a five-by-five configuration. The barges would be moored using two captive anchor barges located about 150 feet from the river’s edge. The 195- by 35-foot captive barges would have two 15-ton anchors on the bow and one five- to 10-ton anchor on the stern….
TowLine River Services, with just one year in business, is the first in the Pittsburgh area to pass inspection by the Coast Guard under the new Towing Vessel Bridging Program (TVBP). The mv. Francis J. Blank, operated by TowLine, passed the inspection on February 5 and was issued a Certificate of Inspection decal indicating compliance with existing regulations. The inspection was performed by CWO John Lee.
Begun this year, the Bridging program will require all uninspected towing vessels that fall under the subchapter M regulations to pass inspection under the new regulations.
“We are very happy with the level of cooperation and level of support from all of our industry partners,” said Cmdr. Richard Timme of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit Pittsburgh. “This is going to be a process that continues, and accelerates over the next 18 months. Examining the UTV Francis J. Blank and working with TowLine River Services as our first industry-initiated exam is a great example of the communication, initiative, and collaboration that it will take from all of us to successfully implement the new towing vessel regulations.”
TowLine was founded by John Fedkoe, who previously worked for Tri-River Fleeting & Harbor Service in charge of personnel, safety, and security….
Blessey Marine Services christened the mv. Richard Tolar on March 11 in New Orleans, La. The vessel, built by Sneed Shipbuilding, is nearly identical to the Wayne T. Mosley and the Alton St. Amant, which Blessey christened in 2009. What makes this boat special, like all of Blessey’s boats, is its namesake.
Capt. Richard Tolar is from Tylertown, Miss., a rural one-traffic-light town where local job opportunities are somewhat limited to timber and farming. Tolar was working on a farm when a family friend recommended he start a career with Blessey. With the prospects of improving his income and advancing his career, he was willing to take the jump. In 1995, he started as a deckhand.
Tolar was committed. He earned his tankerman’s license in short order, and five years later, under the tutelage of several pilots and friends under the Blessey umbrella, he earned his pilot’s license. His first duty as captain was shortly thereafter aboard the mv. Carol Ott.
Today Tolar is captain of the mv. Capt. Allen Billiot, moving tank barges between Corpus Christi, Texas, and Memphis, Tenn., and is now training others to get their license. As a role model to others, his advice is simple: “Find a good company and stay committed,” he said. “Chasing around money won’t get you to the top.”…
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