Duffy: Big River Coalition Transitions To LLC

The Big River Coalition, formed in 2010 as a non-profit trade association under the umbrella of the New Orleans Steamship Association (also known as the Louisiana Maritime Association, or LAMA), has spent the past 15 years promoting the economic and navigational interests of the Mississippi River Ship Channel—and to great effect.

The organization’s founding purpose was to address a funding shortfall at the time in the Corps of Engineers’ budget for maintaining the Mississippi River Ship Channel, which extends from Baton Rouge, La., to the Gulf. Sean Duffy Sr., who began serving as the organization’s executive director in 2011, later helped lead the effort to deepen the Mississippi River Ship Channel from 45 feet to 50 feet. Work to deepen the ship channel got underway in 2020, with the deeper channel certified from the Gulf to above New Orleans just two years later.

The new year ushered in a noteworthy change for the organization, Duffy has announced. Effective January 1, Big River Coalition transitioned to an independent limited liability corporation, with Duffy now serving as president and CEO.

“This was a mutual decision between the leadership of the Louisiana Maritime Association and me,” Duffy said. “For the last 15 years, every success of the Coalition has been made on behalf of and shared with the Louisiana Maritime Association. I have enjoyed the full support of LAMA and Capt. Ron Branch, but in becoming an independent LLC, I simply wanted more accountability for expanding the Big River Coalition’s efforts to promote, advocate and maintain the Mississippi River Ship Channel.”

Duffy’s strength has always been acting as a waterways polyglot, speaking the languages of a diverse set of waterway stakeholders, from shippers and pilots to dredgers, government agencies, engineers, civic groups and port officials.

“In many ways, I serve as a translator between government agencies and the navigation industry to deal with things like dredge restrictions, dredge placement areas, revetment restrictions, etc.,” Duffy said. “I’m a team guy, and I’ve always said that waterways management is a team sport.”

To that end, Duffy said that, under the Big River Coalition LLC banner, he will continue to represent “Team Mississippi River” in conference rooms, emergency operations centers, the halls of Congress and anywhere in between.

While the Mississippi River Ship Channel has seen plenty wins of late, challenges remain. One challenge involves extending the 50-foot channel upriver beyond Mile 180.

“Deepening above Mile 180 will be a challenge due to a number of required pipeline relocations and the need to adjust the U.S. Coast Guard’s aids to navigation in order to accommodate the Corps’ plan to realign the ship channel in certain locations,” Duffy said.

Another challenge that Duffy frequently highlights is “climate variability.” High water seasons, like those between 2018 and 2020, and low water periods, seen each year from 2022 to 2025, present challenges for navigation and the sustainability of the river itself. Duffy frequently has raised an alarm on instability along the east bank of the river below Bohemia, La., comparing that stretch of the river to a “leaky garden hose.” Decreased flow along that stretch promotes siltation and saltwater intrusion, which seasonally threatens fresh-water intakes for communities and industry up to New Orleans. Conversely, high-water periods increase flows through crevasses on the east bank of the river and threaten to further erode the main channel.

“The Big River Coalition remains concerned about these changes to the system and believes that resilient ports depend upon resilient waterways,” Duffy said. “A personal concern is the need for more proactive deltaic riverine management focused, not only on flood control and navigation, but also on protecting the drinking water supply along the Big River from New Orleans to the Gulf of America.”

Regardless of the challenge or opportunity, Duffy said the mission of Big River Coalition LLC remains the same.

“I embrace the opportunity to represent the ‘With You’ leadership team of Big River Coalition LLC while allowing commerce on the Mississippi River to speak with a unified voice and with a strong navigation accent,” Duffy said.

A newly launched Big River Coalition LLC website is forthcoming. In the meantime, people can reach Duffy through his LinkedIn account. Search for “Sean M. Duffy Sr.”

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Featured photo caption: Sean Duffy speaks at an August 16, 2022, celebration for the deepening of the Mississippi River Ship Channel to 50 feet. Also on the stage that day were Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, Sen. Bill Cassidy, Rep. Troy Carter and Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser. (Photo courtesy of Sean Duffy)