Coal Age Magazine - For more than 100 years, Coal Age has been the magazine that readers can trust for guidance and insight on this important industry.
Issue link: https://coal.epubxp.com/i/465229
If we are shipping a load of coal down the Lower Mississippi River, we simply assume all of our barges will arrive safe and sound, never giving a second thought to the danger they endured. In most cases, they will arrive safely because the downriver pilots are the best of their profession, their crews are continuously vigilant, and their towboats are equipped with sufficient power and the best hazard detection equipment avail- able. It is certainly not the only dangerous place on the inland waterways — some may argue the Cincinnati area on the Fourth of July may outrank it for danger to pleasure craft — but the Lower Mississippi River is always hazardous. The Lower Mississippi is a veritable gauntlet of nautical hazards from Baton Rouge to the Gulf. A barge tow captain rounding the turn at Mulatto Bend (Baton Rouge) is suddenly faced with a mov- ing maze of danger that will not ease up until his barges are safely parked beside the river bank, miles downstream. The captain and crew must know what lies ahead, starting with the piers of the Huey P. Long Bridge only a mile beyond the bend. They need all the information their lookouts can provide, especially when it is a foggy night during high water. The Lower Mississippi River is 200 miles of very busy water. There are terminals on both river banks: the water is so deep, large ocean vessels can navigate safely, and there are barge tows of every type. The waters are so treacherous incoming ocean vessels must hire professional river pilots to guide them to all points between Southwest Pass Sea Buoy and Baton Rouge. Many ships are mov- ing, some are anchored, for midstream or dockside loading, and some are anchored awaiting terminals to clear. Hundreds of load- ed or empty barges may be parked by the river bank in fleeting areas, and numerous smaller vessels abound. It's tricky enough to avoid all the nautical hazards in the day- light, when the river is only moving at 1-2 miles per hour, but when the river is flooding and moving fast, the Lower Mississippi is no place for ordinary pilots. Hazard detection and communication is paramount, and one must use every available means, which includes all instruments. Under normal conditions, a line-haul towboat (9,000-11,000 hp) may depart Cairo southbound with a 40- barge tow of coal; during flood conditions, the Coast Guard may advise the towing company to cut their maximum tow size to 20 barges because of safety concerns. Captain Jerry Tinkey, former vice president of operations for Ingram Barge, put it this way: "Always remember the four A's: Anticipate, Assess, Adjust and Apply." That means the helmsman should use every bit of instrumentation provided for hazard detec- tion, and if one man cannot do it alone, a proper lookout may require another man in the wheelhouse to watch instruments while the captain or the mate watches the river. In the modern world of barge towing, that means the instrument panel contains a radio, the very latest river radar, and possibly a relative newcomer to the rivers, the Automatic Identification System (AIS). What if he was pushing a 1,000-ft tow down the Lower Mississippi on a foggy night and could not see the Huey P. Long Bridge just a mile around Mulatto Bend at Baton Rouge? Barges have no keel, so he cannot steer them. Instead, he must literally apply backward thrust to the towboat and tow, causing the barges to swing in an opposite direction and allowing the force of the cur- rent to direct the trajectory of the barge tow. Rivermen call this operation "setting the tow." 22 www.coalage.com February 2015 t r a n s p o r t t i p s By All Available Means B Y D A V E G A M B R E L A N D B R I A N T E T R E A U L T Rounding the turn downbound at Mulatto Bend, the towboat helmsman is sud- denly faced with the piers of the Huey P. Long Bridge at Baton Rouge. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1 st Class Chris Botello) "Collisions are virtually always traceable, at least in part, to inadequate risk detection, communication, assessment or management measures." — Farwell's Rules of the Nautical Road Algiers Point is a famous hazard downstream a short distance from New Orleans. This is the Mississippi River during the 2011 flood, facing downbound. Note some of the hazards that might be encountered by a downbound coal tow: a terminal on the far riverbank, two ships anchored near the terminal, the Algiers ferry and terminal, the Algiers levee and a small vessel in mid-river. (Photo courtesy of David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune )