Weekly News Summary for July 4–10, 2005:
Mariners taking exams for Coast Guard licenses today participate in a more equitable process than those of a few decades ago, according to William Kline, president of The River School, Memphis, Tenn.
Speaking at a Waterways Industries Association luncheon in Paducah June 22, Kline said that although daunting and complicated by new requirements relating to service record, safety, security, radar endorsements, firefighting and first aid training, today’s mariners actually face a more fairly administered test than those given when he first became involved in the process as Coast Guard examiner in 1971.
Until the current multiple-choice exams were implemented, mariners answered essay-type questions administered by examiners who had complete freedom in deciding a mariner’s qualification, based upon his own interpretations of the applicant’s essay response and/or his evaluation of the person’s attitude or general character.
"The Coast Guard personnel had wide discretion in how they graded the exam, as to the kind of questions asked and how the exam was even made up," Kline said. He said that when he first began as an examiner in Cleveland, Ohio, he was given a box with index cards from which he was told to pick cards with questions from each section of the exam and have the applicant respond to them with essay-type answers.
The process usually took a full week to complete, he said.
"If you had a question regarding a particular answer, you had the option to call the individual over to further explain his answer. If he could explain it well enough, you could say, OK."
It didn’t take long before it became obvious which questions were the most difficult to answer and when a mariner walked through the door, he was given a quick once-over….
Adjustments to the 2005 lock outage schedule in the Louisville Engineer District were recently made after further damage was detected at Markland Dam, Ohio River Mile 531.5.
Rick Morgan, operations manager for locks and dam project office for the Louisville Engineer District, said the Corps detected further breakage in strands in the cables for the tainter gates at Gate 10. Following that discovery, the Corps decided to inspect each tainter gate for possible necessary repairs.
"While making repairs to one gate—gate 10—we found more damage then what was expected," he said. "We knew there would be some broken wires on the gates and we did plan on going in there to do the replacements. Afterwards we knew we needed to go in and inspect each gate to know what we were working with."
There are 12 tainter gates that make up the dam. One gate has been repaired and the Corps is in the process of inspecting the remaining gates….
It is not unusual for Dave Reidt to hear long pauses, even laughing, when he is talking to someone about his new venture, Contract Marine Services.
By opening a towing company to operate on the Missouri River, he understands that he is about to begin a battle that many people don’t think is worth fighting. That doesn’t faze him, as he is eager to get started serving the several shippers located along the river that are looking to be served by waterborne transportation.
It has been a year in the making, but Reidt said he is ready to get his feet wet again in the industry. Reidt operated a towing business on the Missouri River in the 1980s for three years called Contract Marine Carriers.
"There is nobody operating on it, and there is a need for it from shippers," he said. "Someone needs to be up there operating. A lot of people say it is not economically feasible in regards (to operating on the Missouri). The problem (drought) is not manmade. Sooner or later it will be a reliable river with substantial business."
So far, Reidt said all the shippers have expressed interest in being served. He said for the most part they are aware of some of the hurdles for a towing company to operate on the river and have been supportive….
VT Halter Marine Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., a subsidiary of Vision Technologies Systems Inc., announced recently that it has signed a $16.3 million contract to build a catamaran lift barge for Washington Group International (WGI) and WGI’s joint venture partner, Alberici Group. The vessel will be fitted with special lift equipment that will be used to transport and place pre-cast concrete segments in the Corps’ Olmsted Dam construction project.
VT Halter Marine will build two 200- by 90- by 15-foot units that will be assembled to form the catamaran lift barge. The vessel’s configuration will allow it to effectively assist in the Olmsted Dam construction efforts. Engineering and procurement will begin immediately and delivery is planned to occur in 2006. The catamaran lift barge will be in service for about six years on the project….
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