Mike’s Inc. Shipyard Plans To Move Downstream

Mike Marko Sr., owner of Mike’s Inc., has applied to the St. Louis Engineer District for two permits to move his shipyard and fleeting area about 3 miles downstream along the left descending bank of the Mississippi River, from its current location at Mile 198.8 to a new location at Mile 195.6.

The application says that at the existing location, “the combination of shallow water during low river stage, existing adjacent operations and encroaching too far into the navigation are prohibitive” for further expansion.

Marko told The Waterways Journal that instead of paying increasing rent at the existing site, he would own the new property outright. According to the permit application, the site is in “a straight stretch [of the river] with additional width available for navigation and facility operations.” Besides needing additional expansion area, Mike’s “anticipates the U.S. Coast Guard’s new regulations for inspecting towing vessels will … increase demand for shipyard services for underwater hull inspection and repair.”

Marko said that Mike’s would be buying 200 to 300 acres and taking advantage of the relocation to reconfigure and expand its vessel repair business. The purchase is contingent on Mike’s getting the permits.

The fleeting area permit envisions a fleet with a maximum capacity of 40 barges, configured five barges wide by eight long. The fleet would extend upriver about 1,700 feet from the proposed shipyard facility’s relocated floating dock. It would operate in an area “where existing fleets have operated for decades.”

On the shore side, utility services would include a proposed 2-inch water line and electric service, to be installed by open-cut and backfill methods. About half the required fill would be placed on a previously disturbed rock-surfaced area where no wetlands exist. Minor brush clearing would provide access to an existing road to a proposed concrete access ramp.

Mike’s anticipates between 10 and 15 barge moves per week and envisions an average presence of 24 barges in the fleet during most times of the year, “which would significantly decrease the proposed maximum fleet’s riverward extent.”