Weekly News Summary For October 30-November 5, 2006:
WRDA Has Good Shot, Frist Tells WCI
Saying he thinks the Water Resources Development Act has a “good shot” at passing this year, U.S. Senate Majority Leader William Frist (R.-Tenn.) set the stage for a two-day conference that dealt with the need to improve the waterways in the face of growing transportation demand.
He addressed conferees at a luncheon of the Waterways Council Symposium and Annual Meeting at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. October 18–20. The meeting was cosponsored by Informa Economics and The Waterways Journal.
Speaking at the request of Orrin Ingram, chairman of Ingram Barge Company, Frist told the 250 or so waterway leaders “it’s a tough bill to get through” because of the current budget deficit and government overspending. The budget will be balanced in 4-1/2 years, he predicted. “However, we’re at a point now where we have to make some pretty tough decisions, and the choice is clear. We need to act now or suffer drastically in the future,” he said, referring to WRDA.
The process is different today. It used to be when a bill went to conference its passage was pretty much assured. No longer, he said. Currently there are four bills—one of which is the “hugely important” child custody and protection bill—that have come to a complete stop.
Frist, who is credited with getting WRDA to conference in the first place, said Congress would have two opportunities to pass the bill. “The House and Senate conferees are working it right now, as we speak,” he said, “and there is a very good shot they will have agreement so that on the first day after the lame duck (November 13), they will be able to come back and introduce that bill.”
The second opportunity, if needed, will be in December after Congress returns from Thanksgiving break, he said….
Three runaway barges destroyed one gate and damaged another October 18 at the Montgomery Locks and Dam on the Ohio River at Monaca, Pa. No injuries were reported.
The 1,800 hp. towboat Barbara, owned by Crounse Corporation of Paducah, Ky., was headed downstream with nine loads of coal when it struck a guide wall, said Karen Auer, a spokesperson for the Pittsburgh Engineer District.
“The impact caused three barges to break loose,” Auer said. “One barge went straight through gate eight, taking gate eight out.”
The steel gate sank in a restricted area near the dam and is not expected to interfere with navigation, she added. A downstream towboat recovered the barge with its load intact….
Shipping officials and politicians broke ground October 18 at the Port of Mobile for the new container terminal, which is scheduled to begin operation in early 2008.
The Mobile Container Terminal LLC is a joint venture between APM Terminals North America (80 percent), a subsidiary of Maersk Inc. and Terminal Link, a division of CMA CGM (20 percent).
It will provide terminal customers with access to global networks to and from the Port of Mobile, said a joint release from the Alabama State Port Authority and Mobile Container Terminal.
“The Port of Mobile possesses deep-water channels and excellent inland interstate, rail and waterway connections that will provide Alabama manufacturers and the nation with a new low-cost, efficient portal to state and regional markets,” said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) He praised the port authority for “expanding the critical transportation infrastructure to serve growing freight and container volumes in the U.S.”
Gov. Bob Riley lauded the new terminal as “the state’s newest transportation asset in a winning formula that is moving Alabama forward.”…
Deleted from the Inland River Record in 2001 after sitting idle for many years and no doubt headed for obscurity, the former Peggy B was spared the scrap heap when Excell Marine Corporation bought it last year.
Ten months at the Hartford, Ill., shipyard of National Maintenance & Repair Inc., 200,000 pounds of steel, plus countless modifications, and an estimated $3 million later, the refurbished towboat is back at work with the sleek look of a completely new vessel.
Based in Cincinnati, Excell is the 15-boat transportation arm of McNational Inc., which also owns five shipyards and numerous barge fleets throughout the inland waterways, operating as National Maintenance & Repair Inc. and McGinnis Inc.
The resurrected vessel was christened mv. Nelson Lewis in ceremonies at Hartford October 10, along with the mv. Hartford Beaver.
Several factors weighed on Excell’s decision to make over an existing boat rather than build a new one, explained Paul Klausen, president. First, of course, was the cost. Even with as much as the company spent, the total was still probably less than it would have been to buy a new one, he said, adding, “not to mention if you could even find a place today to build it.”…
The Delta Queen Steamboat Company canceled two remaining days of a weeklong cruise after about 100 passengers and crewmembers on the riverboat Mississippi Queen reported flu-like symptoms.
Those affected reported vomiting, nausea and diarrhea after the riverboat left Cincinnati October 18, said Delta Queen spokesperson April Matson. The riverboat was bound for St. Louis with 528 passengers and crewmembers. Some passengers left the ship in Henderson, Owensboro and Paducah, Ky., after becoming sick or to avoid the illness.
Eight elderly passengers were treated at a hospital in Henderson, according to a Kentucky health official.
Most Mississippi Queen passengers who remained on the cruise to Cape Girardeau, Mo., were taken to hotels in St. Louis at Delta Queen’s expense. The company also made arrangements for passengers to return home.
Health officials eliminated bacterial infection and food-borne illness as a possibility, said Beth Crace, a spokesperson for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
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