Weekly News Summary For October 20-26, 2008:
The Maritime Administration has invited interested parties to recommend short-sea transportation routes to be designated as Marine Highway Corridors and to participate in a short-sea transportation project as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
MarAd envisions the designation of waterways along some interstate highways and rail routes as Marine Highway Corridors that would reduce congestion, pollution and energy usage, increase freight system reliability and improve the life of citizens who live near a highway.
Designation of specific routes as Marine Highway Corridors, MarAd said, will encourage public/private partnerships, and help focus investment on those Marine Highway Corridors that offer the maximum potential public benefit in congestion reduction, energy efficiency, emissions reduction and other categories.
Navigable waterways that parallel six interstate highway routes already designated as “Corridors of the Future” under the Department of Transportation’s National Strategy to Reduce Congestion will be fast-tracked for designation as Marine Highway Corridors.
The interstate highway routes are I-95 from Florida to Canada; I-70 in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio; I-15 in Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California; I-5 in California, Oregon and Washington; I-10 from California to Florida, and I-69 from Michigan to Texas…
The Coast Guard resumed its investigation into the pre-dawn collision and oil spill on the Mississippi River in New Orleans that shut down marine traffic for several days in July.
The investigation continues to focus on DRD Towing, the company that chartered and crewed the Mel Oliver, which was pushing the loaded barge DM 932. Both the tug and barge are owned by American Commercial Lines (ACL), which stepped in to assume the enormous financial responsibility for the cleanup, without admitting guilt in the incident.
Robert Clinton, vice president-safety with The American Waterways Operators (AWO), explained the Responsible Carrier Program, including the requirements to draft a plan to comply with regulations and the audits AWO conducts to ensure the plan is being carried out….
Responding to public comments, the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Unit in Baton Rouge held a public hearing for industry to discuss safety concerns about the seasonal placement of an aggregates transfer barge between Wilkerson Point and the Upper Baton Rouge Bridge.
The hearing was held at the offices of the Port of Greater Baton Rouge on October 10.
F.G. Sullivan obtained a Corps of Engineers permit, MVN-2008-582 CT, to unload aggregate hopper barges on the right descending bank (RDB) about 1,000 feet above a previously abandoned unloading ramp. Martin Marietta Materials Inc. will operate the site.
Maritime interests were concerned that during high water, when flanking the point is necessary, the unloading barge would interfere with safe navigation around Wilkerson Point. During lower water, pilots slow-steer the center span or the Baton Rouge span. But during periods of high water, pilots flank the point and steer through the Port Allen span on the right descending bank.
When the Coast Guard’s High Water Action Plan is in effect, an assist boat of at least 5,600 hp. is required to help tows around Wilkerson Point as river waters completely overtop the point. Heavy tows have to hold their sterns close to the right descending bank or risk being topped around by currents flowing over the point and hitting the sterns.
Two port captains and 12 tow masters objected to the facility in a synopsis of comments from the public that was distributed at the hearing. The concerns centered on the impact the transfer barge may have on tows navigating around Wilkerson Point during periods of high water….
Weeks before elections that will likely change the shape of Washington, no matter which presidential candidate wins, and in a political climate battered by news of credit meltdowns, leaders of the main inland waterways advocacy groups told The Waterways Journal they have more work to do than ever to keep waterways concerns front and center before our nation’s lawmakers.
Amy Larson, president of the National Waterways Conference Inc., said it’s critical that all waterways groups maintain a united front.
“Everyone is facing challenges, and money will be called on to support the federal rescue package and other needs. “ But her group is “poised and ready to meet the challenges of the 111th Congress.”
On October 13, Larson filed a letter protesting revisions the Army Corps of Engineers proposed on September 12 to its Principles and Guidelines for implementing the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. Her letter was joined by another from R. Barry Palmer, president of the Waterways Council Inc.
Barry Holliday, technical director of the Dredging Contractors of America, a dredging industry lobbying group, has been promoting a new lobbying group called Realize America’s Maritime Promise (RAMP). RAMP, a coalition of companies and maritime organizations, has a laser focus on one issue: making sure that surpluses accumulated in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund from shipping industry fees are spent down as mandated by law…
Could the economic uncertainty bring down the price of steel and, in turn, lower the new-construction cost of towboats and barges?
Steel is probably the most recycled material in the world. Much of the steel used to build towboats and barges is recycled. With the financial crisis affecting the ability of businesses to get credit, many maritime companies and their customers are uncertain of their future. It is causing a steep drop in recycled steel prices, and may lead to a drop in the price of finished steel.
With recycled steel prices falling and demand off 25 percent in October, it’s been a couple of tough months for Joel Dupre, president of Southern Scrap Recycling. Already he was making plans to relocate his ship-breaking operation to the Mississippi River after the de-authorization of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MR-GO). The only other viable access to his Industrial Canal yard was through the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock, which is undersized.
As Hurricane Gustav approached, Dupre asked The Waterways Journal to postpone a scheduled interview as he rushed with his team to secure three ships and more than a hundred barges that were at their yard on the Inner Harbor Navigation (Industrial) Canal in New Orleans…
In the wake of sharply reduced demand due to the financial crisis, fuel and commodity prices are tumbling—a silver lining for motorists and some industries, like waterways carriers, who are welcoming lower diesel and steel prices.
One commodity, though, will remain in short supply for the immediate future: road salt. That’s partly due to the harsh winter last year, which depleted municipal stocks more than usual.
But transportation bottlenecks are the other major cause—especially on the rivers. In the past few weeks, dozens of newspapers all over the country have been running stories on the high cost (tripled since last winter) and/or shortage of road salt this year. Salt Institute president Richard Hanneman reported on September 17 (on the Salt Institute’s web site, www.saltinstitute.org) that the salt pipeline “has been interrupted this year with four weeks of lock and dam closures on the Upper Mississippi.”
Floods and low water account for some of those closures. Truck and rail shortages and the summer’s high fuel costs have added their share to salt price increases. But aging, too-small locks add to the delays.
The Upper Mississippi Waterway Association notes that the salt shortage “graphically demonstrates the continued need for river transportation.”…
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