Weekly News Summary For May 12-18, 2008:
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the final compliance date for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) has been postponed to April 15, 2009.
The department said that the seven-month extension from September 25, 2008, is a direct result of collaboration with port officials and industry. The department said that the TWIC program, established in the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the SAFE Port Act, is on track to complete enrollment for a substantial number of jurisdictions by the end of 2008. Several ports will be required to comply with TWIC regulations this year.
Owners and operators of facilities located within Captain of the Port Zones Boston, Northern New England and Southeastern New England are required to comply by October 15. Additional ports will be announced in the coming weeks, and the Coast Guard will provide at least 90 days’ notice prior to enforcement.
The TWIC program, which the department says is progressing steadily, has opened more than 100 fixed enrollment centers and dozens of mobile sites nationwide. More than 250,000 workers have enrolled as of the beginning of May and thousands more are processed each week. Enrollment began last October at the Port of Wilmington (Del.)….
While area high school students were preparing to make a good impression on their dates for their annual spring proms taking place that weekend, Paducah area marine industry executives and local Coast Guard officials were trying to look their best for the arrival of Adm. Thad W. Allen when he arrived for a whirlwind tour of local facilities on May 2.
Included on the Coast Guard commandant’s busy agenda were a tour of the James Marine Shipyard facility, a ride down the Ohio River aboard a Marquette Transportation Company towboat, a quick visit to the Seamen’s Church Institute pilot training simulator and a brief appearance before a group of local marine industry representatives, where he discussed Coast Guard policies regarding the brown water marine industry. He then attended an invitation-only industry luncheon at one of Paducah’s premiere restaurants.
Adm. Allen’s arrival was hailed as the first visit to the area by a Coast Guard commandant. He said that when he was appointed to his position nearly two years ago, he decided he wanted to visit every Coast Guard district. As the commandant, he is the highest-ranking member of the U. S. Coast Guard. He assumed his command in May 2006 and is midway through his four-year appointment.
Unlike the commandant of the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard commandant is not a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and he reports to the president, the secretary of homeland security and the secretary of defense. Prior to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, the Coast Guard commandant reported to the secretary of transportation, and many marine industry officials wish this were still the case….
With its job of relieving pressure on the levees of New Orleans done, Corps of Engineers officials had planned to close the remaining bays of the Bonnet Carré Spillway by the weekend of May 10–11.
The spillway diverts Mississippi River water northward to Lake Pontchartrain, bypassing the downriver city of New Orleans. It was opened April 11, during the High Water Inspection Tour of the Mississippi River Commission.
But while the spillway has done its job relieving pressure on the levees, some navigation interests have urged that it remain open to further reduce high water along with the dangers, restrictions and costs associated with high-water operational safety.
As of May 7, safety zones, issued by the Coast Guard as part of High Water Action Plans pre-arranged with industry input, remain in effect at the Bonnet Carré Spillway (until it is fully closed); Baptiste Collette; and from Mile 105 (below the Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans) to Mile 235 in Baton Rouge.
In Baton Rouge, a temporary Vessel Traffic Control Center was opened and is staffed with personnel supplied by industry, with Coast Guard oversight. An assist boat was required at Wilkerson Point above Baton Rouge and at the Port Allen Lock.
Space in ship anchorages was limited, with a half mile between ships required and the footprint of some anchorages being reduced. The Meal Anchorage is closed to ease traffic concerns at the Port Allen Lock….
Capt. Dennis Trone, 77, of Petersburg, Ill., a pioneer in the modern day excursion boat field, died May 5 when a single-engine plane that he built and was piloting alone, crashed near Madison, Wis.
Capt. Trone had retired in 2006 after more than 50 years in the riverboat business, going back to 1960 when he operated the Talisman riverboat out of New Salem State Park on the Sangamon River. A naval architect, he is best known for having designed, built and piloted the steamer Julia Belle Swain, which is one of only six authentic steamboats in the United States.
A former member of his crew, Cindy Sinclair, who earned her pilot’s license with his help, remembers her time on the Julia Belle Swain with Capt. Trone: “He was absolutely the finest riverman I ever knew. He was a dreamer, yet wise and cautious. He encouraged and taught me to steer when there were few female pilots…I’ll never forget that.”
Capt. Trone built the Julia Belle Swain in 1970 when he was president of Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works. He operated the excursion vessel out of Peoria, Ill., offering sightseeing and overnight trips on the Illinois River, and in 1986 added a sister ship, Twilight. Then, he moved both boats to the Upper Mississippi River, where he offered two-day overnight cruises….
Under a giant red-and-white beaver on the bulkhead, workers in hardhats and grimy Carhartt overalls filed in and out of the floating banquet hall where caterers served fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and mostaccioli. National Maintenance and Repair in Hartford, Ill., near Alton, was celebrating 20 years of business. Outside, a fine drizzle fell on the drydock and shipyard as founder and owner Doug McGinnis shared tales with The Waterways Journal from his long and storied life on the inland waterways.
The Hartford shipyard has two sister yards in Ohio, one in Kentucky, and one in Louisiana, along with numerous other fleeting, harbor service and barge cleaning locations. Together they form one of the most respected marine service companies on the inland waterways.
National Maintenance & Repair is only one of the four units of holding company McNational Inc., also owned by McGinnis. The other units are Excell Marine Corporation, Mid-America Fuels Inc., and McGinnis Inc. -- the descendant of the original barge and towing company founded almost a hundred years ago by Charlie King, Floyd Fuller and Gilbert Monroe. It’s been 20 years since they were merged under the McNational banner. Together, they offer a complete line of marine services – towing, line hauling, repair, cleaning, fueling and environmental response services.
The Hartford yard is humming at full capacity. On the afternoon we spoke, it was due to deliver a refurbished towboat to a customer.
“It was just bare metal when we got it last year from American Boat Company,” said Bruce McGinnis, Doug’s son. It had sunk in 2000 and been stripped of all its equipment after being raised. Bruce showed off its completely new equipment, from comfortable crew rooms with wooden dressers and beds to new electronics and a refurbished engine. National is the only yard that repairs and rebuilds both marine and railroad diesel engines. The company has 22 drydocks, five of them in Hartford….
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