Weekly News Summary for November 27-December 3, 2006:
Marathon Petroleum Buys Republic Barge
Marathon Petroleum Company, through its Terminal, Transport & Marine group in Catlettsburg, Ky., has acquired the assets of Republic Barge Transportation Company, based in Hockley, Texas, outside Houston. The transaction closed November 15.
“The two companies have had a longstanding relationship,” a Marathon spokesperson said. “The acquisition was in the best interests of both companies.”
Republic owned five towboats, including the recently delivered mvs. Joe Collins and W.W. Munson, and 10 hot oil barges. The boats are 2,400 and 2,600 hp.; the barges are 30,000-barrel units.
Paul Rohde said he believes Congress will pass the Water Resources Development Act this legislative session. WRDA is receiving bipartisan support from key leaders, and both the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed bills, he pointed out.
WRDA would provide project funding for lock and dam construction and repair and policies for the aging river systems.
“We’re hopeful that our efforts will pay off and that logic and reason will rule the day on Capitol Hill,” said Rohde, president of Midwest Area River Coalition 2000.
Then again, things have appeared positive before, he cautioned.
“There’s frustration there,” said Rohde. “Everybody is saying the right things. Yet, we haven’t seen tangible progress.”
The House bill and the Senate bill are far apart on certain issues and very close on others. But the fact that both chambers have passed bills is encouraging, he said.
Rohde said he’s worried mainly because WRDA could get sidetracked as has happened in the past several years when hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf region.
“The clock is ticking, and that adds to the anxiety,” Rohde said. “There are several issues that could topple WRDA – Secretary Rumsfeld’s replacement has to be appointed. It’s possible that we could hear, ‘We just ran out of time.’ The waterways community has heard that too many times.”…
The Coast Guard gave the Mississippi Queen clearance to resume its schedule after an eight-inch crack in the steamboat’s hull plating was repaired. The excursion boat stopped in St. Louis for repairs after discovering the crack November 14 during a cruise.
“The crew discovered a small crack along the seams of the hull plating, and they made the necessary repairs,” said Dan Miller, a spokesman for the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, which owns the boat.
Capt. Sharon Richey, commander of the Coast Guard’s Sector Upper Mississippi River in St. Louis, said it appeared the boat struck something either on the river or while pulling in to dock….
For some in Louisiana, the American Wind Symphony Orchestra’s 50th year came at exactly the right time.
“In Lake Charles, one lady told my wife she hadn’t gone out socially in more than nine months. Everything is blown away,” said Robert Austin Boudreau, the orchestra’s music director and creator. “She said that for two hours, she thought of nothing but music. That’s why we do what we do.”
This past summer, the Spirit of Louisiana tour celebrated the 50th year of the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, which travels and plays on the specially designed barge Point Counterpoint II. But coming less than one year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast region, it was more than a celebration.
“We wanted to lift the spirits of everyone affected by the hurricanes,” Boudreau said. “They’re still so traumatized down there.
“It was one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve ever had. We’ve played in Paris for the French Bicentennial; and we went to Russia when it still was the Soviet Union. But this was special.”
The orchestra played concerts in Lake Charles, Morgan City, Houma, Lockport, New Orleans and Madisonville, La., in June….
Little did St. James Stevedoring Company LLC officials know their decision to upgrade the company’s existing fleet of six friction-type floating cranes would lead to development of a new barge-mounted crane.
St. James Stevedoring, of Convent, La., began a worldwide search in December 2003 for the right crane to handle breakbulk and bulk cargoes on the Mississippi River. That search led to a partnership with Gottwald Port Technologies of Dusseldorf, Germany.
Coincidentally, Gottwald had been looking for more than three years for the opportunity to expand its mobile harbor crane offering to include a barge-mounted model, according to a press release from St. James Stevedoring.
Gottwald and St. James Stevedoring created the first barge-mounted Gottwald mobile harbor crane designated the HPK 330 EG and named it the Alex G after one of St James’s co-founders, Alex Goldberger. The Alex G was dedicated in February 2005.
In March 2006, St. James purchased its second Gottwald HPK 330 EG, and dedicated the Don D on October 29. It is named after another St. James co-founder, Don Dugas….
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