Weekly News Summary For December 14-20, 2009:
Michigan’s attorney general, Mike Cox, announced December 6 that he will file federal suit to force the closure of locks on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and Calumet Sag Canal to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. The legal step had been called for a week earlier by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Five environmental groups have also been pressing for lawsuits to force the closures. Cox said his suit could name the Corps, the state of Illinois and/or the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The suit could be filed in federal court, or even the U.S. Supreme Court under a 1967 ruling over the Sanitary Canal that left the way open for future lawsuits by states over the diversion created by the canal.
The suit would demand closure of the locks and a “comprehensive, long-term solution” to the threat of Asian carp centering the Great Lakes. Cox has asked the agencies to give him their long-term plans for preventing carp from entering the Great Lakes, but said he has received no reply from the Corps to a letter sent the previous week.
Cox’s spokesman, John Sellek, said he couldn’t give a precise timetable for the suit to the Detroit Free Press. A “long-term solution” might mean permanently closing off water access between the Great Lakes and the inland waterways.
The O’Brien lock at the eastern end of the Calumet Sag Canal was closed December 4 during a planned fish kill using the chemical rotenone upstream over an 11.5-mile section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Electroshock was used at the lock to stun fish while fishermen looked for Asian carp….
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen used the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans to announce the establishment of two National Centers of Expertise (NCOE): for the Outer Continental Shelf in Morgan City, La.; and for casualty investigations in New Orleans.
Other Centers of Expertise that have been announced include one for cruise ships in Miami, towing vessels in Paducah, Ky., and credentials suspension and revocations at Martinsburg, W. Va., at the National Maritime Center.
As many as 70 percent of current Coast Guard personnel have joined since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it has been reported. With the retirement of so many experienced personnel, Allen said there is a perceived reduction in the expertise in many areas of operation.
Coupled with the increased complexity of equipment aboard vessels, the commandant said he felt a need to upgrade training of personnel using the newly-created NCOE training centers.
Experienced industry representatives are being hired to help staff the centers and provide Coast Guard personnel with instructors that are experts of current operations and equipment in their field.
Commissioners of the Port of Corpus Christi voted 4-3 December 8 to increase ship and barge fees by more than 500 percent to pay for a new marine patrol. Barge fees would go from $35 to $230 per barge, an increase of 557 percent, the Corpus Christi Caller reported. Harbor fees for ocean-going ships will rise from $275 to $2,032, a 639 percent increase. The fee increases will take effect in April 2010. The new fee called a Harbor Safety fee, replaces the old Fire Boat Tariff.
Ten of 11 speakers during the comment period opposed the fee hikes. Chairman Ruben Bonilla and commissioners Kenneth Berry, Francis Gandy, and Robert Gonzalez voted in favor. Richard Borchard, Mike Carrell and Judy Hawley voted against, citing the strong opposition of shippers to the increased fees.
Shippers and barge industry representatives strongly opposed the increases. The West Gulf Maritime Association, representing 140 maritime companies and operators from Brownsville, Texas, to Lake Charles, La., took the lead in organizing opposition.
The annual operating cost of the marine patrol is estimated at $2.3 million for 2010, and $2.9 million for 2011. That covers two new patrol boats, each with a 10-man crew. Arch Archambo, chief of port police, told the Caller five crewmembers had been hired so far.
Hunter Marine Transport, Nashville, Tenn., is planning to refurbish the mv. Jerry Jarrett, which it bought at auction several months ago. A bid package is being assembled for the project. The boat is tied up at the company’s Paducah, Ky., operations base, where much of the work is to be done.
The 7,200 hp. boat burned last year in an engineroom fire above Baton Rouge that was detailed in the April 28, 2008, issue of The Waterways Journal. The fire was extinguished in three hours due to an industry response that was described as “amazing” by a Coast Guard officer at the scene. The boat was owned by Marquette Transportation Company.
The Jarrett was southbound with 25 barges at the time. The Mister C rescued crewmembers from the barges, where they had sought refuge. Other boats held the tow, while the W.A. Kernan and the Archie Wilson battled the fire, bringing it under control. The Mira Eckstein fetched the Exxon firefighting barge, which was equipped with foam that Exxon firefighters used to completely extinguish the fire.c
Shoaling at Southwest Pass, the main navigation channel of the Mississippi River, has caused the Associated Branch Pilots (Bar Pilots) to place restrictions on ship traffic at the mouth of the river.
“As of now [December 8] we will handle the passing of two deep-draft vessels (43 feet and over) on a ship-by-ship basis in the lower half of SW pass,” said an e-mail from Kevin Levine of the Bar Pilots and forwarded to The Waterways Journal by Sean Duffy, executive director of the Gulf States Maritime Association (GSMA). “If a delay is unavoidable we will notify the agent ASAP and expedite the movement of the vessels.”
In GSMA circular M 132-09 issued December 4, Duffy alerted members of the “critical shortfall in funds needed for additional dredging in Southwest Pass.”
“GSMA continues to work with the [Congressional] delegation to seek assistance and in hope of securing supplemental funds,” Duffy said in an e-mail to members. “As of this writing, there is no word on whether or not the disputed industry hopper dredge contract can be awarded. If not, the soonest an additional dredge might be on scene appears to be the Corps hopper dredge Wheeler, that could be in SWP by December 15, 2009.”
Haydel Marine Towing LLC, a new company founded by 30-year maritime veteran, Capt. Gregory Haydel of Franklin, La., christened its first vessel earlier this year.
Built by Inland Boat Works of Bridge City, Texas, the new boat measures 39 by 24 feet with a draft of six feet, eight inches and an eye level of 38 feet from the stilted wheelhouse. It is powered by three John Deere 6081 diesels with a total of 1,200 hp. Reduction is 6.17:1 via Tonan TM828D gears.
There are two flanking rudders on each outside engine. The three forward rudders each have five-inch “stump jumpers” to help protect the 50- by 42-inch four-blade Michigan propellers. Each main engine is equipped with a 5 gpm. hydraulic pump as a backup to the steering system in the event of a loss of power from the two Isuzu 30 kw. generators.
The push boat can carry 7,200 gallons of fuel and 2,400 gallons of water.
There is a large bunkroom with four bunks plus storage, and a crew lounge with a 42-inch LCD high-definition TV, in the air-conditioned and heated cabin…
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.) |
 |
319 N. 4th St., Suite 650 · St. Louis, MO 63102 · Phone (314) 241-7354 · Fax (314) 241-4207
|
|
