Weekly News Summary For November 6-12, 2006:
Olmsted Dam Project Delayed Over Funding Issue
On-site work on the $1.4 billion Olmsted Locks and Dam project was suspended October 16 after Congress adjourned its third quarter session without passing the Energy and Water appropriation for fiscal 2007.
The appropriation includes funding for several major U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects, including the Olmsted and Marmet locks and dam projects on the Ohio River.
Barry Palmer, president and chief executive officer of the Waterways Council, said the Olmsted project has access to some funds via the Continuing Resolution Authority through November 17. However, those funds are limited.
“We’re at the whims of Congress. They’re slowing them down on the Marmet project, too,” Palmer said. “It would be easier if they just passed the bill. These are the shenanigans that happen when we get into continuing resolutions.”
The contractor can use funds carried over from fiscal 2006 plus the Continuing Resolution Authority funds. The continuing resolution funds include a percentage of the budget proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate—whichever is lower….
Despite two days of extensive cleaning and other health precautions, the Mississippi Queen canceled a second cruise after 25 to 30 people became ill with the Norwalk virus.
Previously, the steamboat canceled part of a cruise October 22 after 153 passengers and 11 crew members became ill with the Norwalk, a highly contagious virus common to cruise ships.
The Delta Queen Steamboat Company quickly canceled the remainder of a weeklong cruise after stopping in Hannibal, Mo., after passengers began getting ill.
“We’re taking a full two weeks to do as much in-depth deep cleaning as possible,” said Dan Miller, spokesman for Delta Queen Steamboat Company, which owns the Mississippi Queen.
He said the company is cooperating with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company went beyond health officials’ recommendations in shutting the boat down for two weeks, Miller said. The shutdown means the steamboat will miss one additional cruise….
The Memphis Manatee eluded a rescue team that hoped to take the wayward marine mammal its natural environment in Florida.
The eight-foot-long, 1,000 pound manatee was spotted several times from October 22 to October 25 in the Wolf River Harbor, a Mississippi River chute at downtown Memphis.
“Hopefully, it’s headed back south for warmer water,” said Randy Richardson, deputy director of the Port of Memphis.
A rescue team of marine mammal specialists arrived in Memphis Oct. 26, but couldn’t locate the manatee Thursday or Friday, despite using sonar and heat-seeking equipment.
Warm Water
Lt. Ed Vidulich, head of the Memphis Police harbor patrol, said the manatee probably was confused because the river was warmer farther north than the water in the south….
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) will hold its second annual seminar focusing on ports in and along America’s inland and intracoastal waterways this month in Memphis, Tenn. The conference, titled “Growth Opportunities for General Cargo and Shallow Draft Ports,” will feature experts on subjects ranging from short sea shipping to adapting existing terminal facilities to handle new types of cargos.
The seminar is slated November 14–16 at the Peabody Hotel.
“In the U.S., as in many other countries, coastal seaports are often fed by cargos that are shipped in and out of them from smaller intracoastal and inland ports, some located along river systems more than 1,000 miles from the ocean,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA president and chief executive officer. “This seminar will give participants opportunities to network with others in the industry, identify links between the two types of ports, and discover strategic relationships for services that they may not have known existed.”…
“Her looks defy her age.” That might be the comment from guests who boarded the handsome towboat Hank Tulodzieski during an open house that preceded the October 26 dedication ceremony at Paducah, Ky. Guests and family members touring the veteran workhorse could see no indication that the vessel is 51 years old. The big boat glistened in the attractive colors of AEP River Operations, a unit of American Electric Power, which also includes Memco Barge Line, Elmwood Marine Service and River Transport Division.
The boat debuted in 1955 as the A. D. Haynes II, first of three almost identical vessels built by Dravo Corporation for the former Mississippi Valley Barge Line. It was named in honor of Capt. Aubrey Haynes, a veteran pilot and Valley Line marine superintendent who died unexpectedly from a heart attack at age 54, only three months before the christening ceremony. Capt. Haynes was well-known within the river industry in the 1950s for his belief in higher horsepower, better hull design and other innovations that were being tried and tested as the industry pushed toward the 5,000 hp. mark. Capt. Haynes worked closely with the Dravo officials during the design and construction of the vessels and many of his ideas and suggestions were incorporated in the final products, all of which continue to operate today.
A sister vessel, the Valley Transporter, was christened at the same time as the A.D Haynes II; it underwent a similar overhaul and remodeling by Memco and was renamed Susie Cooney (WJ, August 28.) The third boat was the Valley Voyager, delivered in 1957 and now operating as the Capt. Adrian Hargrove.
The boats were originally constructed with a pair of Nordberg “Supairthermal” four-cycle, 12-cylinder, counter-rotating diesel engines to provide a total of 4,200 hp. The giant 200- by 45-foot vessels were considered the most powerful towboats along the inland waterways when they began operating along the Lower Mississippi River….
The Waterways Journal encourages letters to the editor.
Have something on your mind?
Send letters to: jshoulberg@waterwaysjournal.net.
(Please indicate whether or not your letter is intended for publication.)
