Weekly News Summary For October 2-8, 2006:
Quality To Build 10 Towboats For AEP
AEP River Operations recently signed a long-rumored contract with Quality Shipyards to build 10 new 6,000 hp. towboats. Although there have been a couple towboats of higher horsepower built in the last 20 years, it has been fully that long since any vessels of comparable size have been delivered, river observers say.
AEP River Operations, based in Chesterfield, Mo., is a unit of American Electric Power, which includes Memco Barge Line, Elmwood Marine Service and River Transport Division.
Fueled by forecasts for increased coal and limestone movement on the Ohio, the demand for newer, more efficient towboats reached a point where it made economic sense to construct the vessels, said Keith Darling, senior vice president of boat operations.
AEP River Operations currently supplies coal to AEP’s nine power plants on the Ohio River by way of seven leased towboats that are all in the 30- to 35-year range and are powered by GM 16-645 diesels, like the Capt. John Reynolds. The new-builds that will replace them will be equipped with engines that are much more fuel-efficient, Darling said, namely the electronic, fuel-injected, Tier 2-compliant EMD 12-710G7C-T2 engines….
The Mid America REC Workgroup (MAREC), chaired by Fred Nyhuis, Marathon Petroleum, met in St. Louis, Mo., on September 27, with the purpose of offering members of the Coast Guard and industry an open forum. American River Transportation Company hosted the roundtable meeting at its North Terminal facility. Five attendees were present from the Coast Guard, while one was from National Quality Systems, Washington, D.C. All six volunteered their time to attend.
The most discussed topic was the new physical standards for mariners. Reportedly, these new standards have just recently been placed on the Federal Register and may be active within 30 days. According to Lt. Cmdr. Tina Bassett, National Quality Systems, the new rules are estimated to eliminate 2 percent of all mariners from eligibility based on existing medical conditions. “A devastating number,” commented an industry representative.
Several additional concerns reached the floor. One concern is that some of the mariners who are deemed ineligible will not be deserving of having their licenses pulled. For example, if it is found that an individual suffered a head injury in Little League baseball and was told that it could potentially cause future seizures, then that person may no longer be able to work on the river. The rule doesn’t consider whether or not seizures have actually occurred in the 20 years since the injury or the individual’s record on the river. A similar, real-life example of this scenario was presented….
Drought remains a constant companion throughout much of Missouri River basin, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in its monthly Missouri River water management report last week. Runoff into Garrison reservoir was only 12 percent of normal last month and Oahe reservoir established a new low elevation of 1570.2 feet.
“Runoff throughout the basin continues to be extraordinarily low,” said Larry Cieslik, chief of the water management office in Omaha, Neb. “Reservoir storage fell by 1.5 million acre feet (maf.) in August. Tributary runoff into the river below Kansas City rose dramatically from local rain in mid-August but again fell off late in the month.”
Because of drought-depleted reservoirs, the mainstem powerplants are expected to produce nearly 40 percent less hydropower this year. To make up for the lower generation in August, the Western Area Power Administration, which markets the power produced by the dams, had to purchase additional electricity to meet its contract obligations to utilities throughout the upper Midwest….
Vice Adm. D. Brian Peterman, commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Portsmouth, Va., and Rear Adm. Joel R. Whitehead, commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District, New Orleans, La., paid a visit to the inland rivers region last month.
The main focus of the visit was to gain a better understanding of the region’s critical infrastructure along with their commercial and environmental significance to the nation. Peterman and Whitehead also took the opportunity to meet with the crews of Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River (UMR) in St. Louis, Mo., and Marine Safety Units (MSUs) Paducah, Ky., and Huntington, W.Va., which are both subordinate commands of Coast Guard Sector Ohio Valley (OHV).
Peterman assumed command of Coast Guard Atlantic Area on May 9. He is the operational commander for all Coast Guard activities within the area ranging from the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf and spanning an area of responsibility that includes five Coast Guard districts, 42 states and more than 14 million square miles. The area is served by more than 30,300 military and civilian Coast Guard employees, and almost 30,000 auxiliarists.
Whitehead is responsible for U.S. Coast Guard operations covering 26 states, more than 1,200 miles of coastline and 10,300 miles of inland waterways from Florida to Mexico and including the entire navigable lengths of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee river systems….
Erlanger Tubular Corporation has become the largest land tenant at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, the port announced recently. The firm has leased 18 additional acres immediately north of the 39 acres it already occupies. The land will be used for a new pipe storage yard and rail and truck loading area, and will make room for production expansion on the original site.
The company has leased land at the Port of Catoosa for 28 years.
Erlanger is a business unit of NS Group Inc., Newport, Ky., a leading supplier of tubular products to the energy market. Products include seamless and welded tubular material used in oil and natural gas drilling and production applications.
“The added land will reduce pipe handling requirements from the receipt of green or unfinished tubing through the various processing operations to final shipment or customer storage,” said David Mandolesi, Erlanger’s plant manager….
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