Weekly News Summary For May 23–29, 2005:
After September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard called 110 reservists to active duty and assigned them to the Marine Safety Office (MSO) in New Orleans with orders amounting to, “Make the Mississippi River safe.”
Initially, no additional office space was provided for the influx of personnel, nor were additional vehicles made available for patrol work. There were not enough weapons to go around. Few of the reservists had any security training.
In fact, most of the reservists had never even seen the Mississippi River, so they did not know how treacherous the fast currents and eddies are and had no concept of how busy the vital waterway is….
Memco Barge Company showed off a 31-year-old “like new” towboat in St. Louis last week, as the mv. Mary Scheel emerged from a shipyard following a complete refurbishment.
Memco hosted members of the namesake’s family for a tour of the vessel, followed by a luncheon at a local restaurant. Mary Scheel is the company’s accounts receivable manager, and has been with Memco for more than 18 years.
The 5,600 hp. mv. Mary Scheel was built in 1974 by St. Louis Ship. It was originally the Margaret O in the Midland Enterprises fleet. Midland was merged into Ingram Barge Company in 2002, and in 2003 Ingram sold the vessel to Memco, which renamed it in October of that year.
On December 31, 2004, Memco sent the vessel to National Maintenance & Repair, Hartford, Ill., for a top-to-bottom renovation. The GM diesel engines were overhauled, but just about everything else on the boat was replaced, said Chuck Miller, who oversaw the work for Memco….
The Waterways Association of Pittsburgh will present a training seminar on vessel inspection in the river industry. The seminar is set for June 2 at the Mariners hall in Dunlevy, Pa., next to the headquarters of Campbell Transportation.
The seminar is designed for vessel owners, port captains, captains and pilots so they will know the regulations for vessel boarding inspections and what to expect from the Coast Guard during the inspections.
Capt. Gary Keen from The River School in Memphis will be the instructor for the training. The Coast Guard Inspection Team will also be on hand to answer any questions attendees may have regarding inspections….
A report on the implementation of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) issued by the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast Guard outlines the status of the level of the funds, implications of changing the phase-out date for single-hull barges, costs of requiring vessel monitoring systems on tank vessels used to transport oil or other hazardous cargo and a summary of other safety issues affecting tank barges and towing vessels.
The Oil Pollution Act of 19909 addressed numerous needs associated with prevention, response and compensation for oil pollution from vessels and facilities in navigable waters, adjoining shorelines and exclusive economic zone. OPA increased federal oversight of maritime oil transportation, while providing greater environmental safeguards by setting new requirements for vessel construction and crew licensing and manning, mandating contingency planning, enhancing federal response capability, broadening enforcement authority, increasing penalties, creating new research and development programs, increasing potential liabilities, adding new compensation provisions and significantly broadening financial responsibility requirements.
The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund has several recurring and nonrecurring sources of revenue including a 5-cent-per-barrel tax, which expired in 1994, transfers from other existing pollution funds, although no additional funds remain to be transferred to this fund; interest, the largest ongoing source of revenue, is the interest on the fund principal from U.S. Treasury investments; cost recoveries from responsible parties, which amount to only a small portion of what is owed due to lack of evidence to litigate or compel the responsible party to pay; and penalties….
Louisiana’s plans to rescue the highway to Port Fourchon from floods got a boost Thursday from U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta when he announced final approval of a $66 million federal loan for the project during a visit to the port.
The loan program will help the state build a 17-mile elevated toll highway, known as LA 1, connecting the port to land less susceptible to flooding, Mineta said.
“It is clear that a two-lane road that floods at the sight of rain is no longer adequate to service this vital Gulf port,” Mineta said.
He noted that when the road floods, or when an accident snarls traffic, offshore oil and gas production is slowed and fishing boats can’t get their catch to market on time…
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