Weekly News Summary for November 17-23, 2008:
The global economy continues to grow along trade routes, and areas isolated from those routes will see “bad things happen,” said Scott Hercik, transportation and international trade advisor to the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Speaking at the 2008 National Waterways Conference (NWC) annual meeting at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, Hercik and several other speakers discussed the multiple uses of the waterways, including transportation, recreation and energy generation, and explained the benefits of increased use of the waterways to the 180 registered participants.
Hercik said the national economy was developed with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in the 1800s and changed in the 1950s by the development of the interstate highway system. Appalachia was left out of the prosperity, he said, and then-President John Kennedy commissioned a study to find out why. Appalachia was isolated with limited transportation, the study found.
Railroads are adapting to the changing economy, he said, noting that coal was the railroad’s top revenue source until two years ago, when containers became No. 1. The Panama Canal expansion and the developing economies of China and India will continue to increase container traffic, Hercik said.The NWC program reflected the organization’s broad-based mission and the diversity of its membership of waterways stakeholders….
The Coast Guard will begin inspections next week of towboats, focusing on licenses, in a year-long pilot version of what will become a permanent inspection regime.
Coast Guard inspectors will be present at the Industrial Canal lock to board transiting towboats. The Coast Guard has said it will try to perform inspections at locks and dams, when tows are waiting to transit.
Called Operation Big Tow, the inspections have been authorized by Congress for four years, but gained new urgency after this summer’s oil spill involving an improperly licensed pilot. Michael White, in charge of towboats for the Coast Guard’s 8th District, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “Big Tow is directed at licenses.”
The Coast Guard said it expects Operation Big Tow to last about a year, during which it will track any violations and write its rules for regular towboat inspections. It is expected to announce its new rules by next spring.
The Coast Guard has just concluded hearings on the July 23 oil spill involving the towing vessel Mel Oliver and its fuel barge, which split in two when it suddenly turned in front of an oncoming ocean vessel, the Tintomara. The barge released about 280,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel into the Mississippi River….
The Coast Guard concluded its hearing into the cause of the accident that spilled 280,000 gallons of No. 6 oil into the Mississippi River in New Orleans without the captain or executives of the towing company testifying.
The captain of the pushboat Mel Oliver filed a statement with the Coast Guard, refusing to testify at the Coast Guard hearing into the cause of the July 23 collision which shut down portions of the Mississippi River for several days during the massive cleanup.
Four officers of the company that operated the Mel Oliver also submitted statements declining to be interviewed. DRD Towing of Harvey, La., crewed and operated the Mel Oliver. The boat was chartered by DRD Towing from American Commercial Lines and was pushing an ACL barge loaded with No. 6 fuel oil when it abruptly changed course and veered into the path of the downbound ship Tintomara.
Terry Carver, who was captain of the Mel Oliver, left the vessel several days before the accident to drive to Illinois to deal with problems with his girlfriend. Apprentice Mate John Bavaret testified he had an arrangement with Carver where they would cover for each other when one wanted time away from the boat….
Ingram Barge Company delivered 77 standard-size hopper barges to load the deep-draft Cape America with 105,000 metric tons of coal, the largest ship ever to load at the Tigerville Anchorage at Mile 137 on the Lower Mississippi River (LMR).
Associated Terminals used five midstream loading cranes to load the ship. It was only the second time the stevedoring company used five cranes on a job and was the largest ship ever loaded by Associated Terminals.
The ship measures 886 feet long, 140 feet wide and will be loaded to 50 feet for the outbound trip to Europe. Most of the coal originated along the Ohio River.
Most ships that load at Tigerville Anchorage are Panamax ships, with a beam of 104 feet, just narrow enough for the 105-foot-wide Panama Canal. The Panama Canal expansion project will allow for larger, and wider ships when it is completed.
Panamax ships are generally 75,000 tons to 80,000 tons. The Cape America is rated at 123,000 tons….
A plan for a container terminal in Gulfport, Mississippi, was approved by the Mississippi State Port Authority after a series of public hearings in October that, planners say, helped shape the plan. Port planners also accepted public comments through the port’s Web site. The meetings were held October 14 and October 24 at the Port Authority’s Gulfport offices.
Doug Sethness of the global engineering, architectural and construction firm CH2M Hill, the project’s principal designer, has been conducting the public hearings through October and November at locations throughout the area.
“We received a great number of positive comments, along with some negative ones. The public had some concerns about aesthetics and transportation connectivity we were able to address,” Sethness told The Waterways Journal.
The approval means that some preparatory work can go forward for ground-clearing operations that already have a permit….
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