Inland Port Magazine 2014 no 4

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2014 Issue 4

Keeping Cargo Moving on the Columbia Snake River

Port of Catoosa and the Panama Canal Inland Diving Companies

Inland Port

2014 Issue 4 • Volume VI ISSN 2156-7611

www.inlandportmagazine.com @inlandportmag Published bimonthly by

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Hudson Jones Publications, LLC Houston, Texas • Tulsa, Oklahoma 281-602-5400 EDITOR Daron Jones djones@inlandportmagazine.com DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Jo Anne Hudson jhudson@inlandportmagazine.com Entire contents ©2014, all rights reserved.

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Keeping Cargo Moving on the Columbia Snake River System

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Bio-Based Lubricants Allow Eco-Friendly Dredging

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Tulsa Port of Catoosa Ready for Panama Canal Boom

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New Maritime Center Open to Public

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Recent Maritime Law Case Summaries

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Top Vessel-Tracking Trends for 2014: A Mid-Year Update

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Industry Leaders Voice Concerns about Clean Water Act

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Need Help with Grants? GAMA is Here for You

Inland Port 2014 • Issue 4

By Heather Stebbings, Pacific Northwest Waterways Association

Why Pro-Dive uses environmentally safe lubricants

Exclusive IP interview with Logistics Coordinator Steve Hawks

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By Paul J. Loftus, Huddleston Bolen, LLP, and Katherine E. Beyer, University of Kentucky College of Law

By Dean Rosenberg, Director - PortVision, Oceaneering International

By Amy W. Larson, Esq., National Waterways Conference, and Steven A. Burns, Balch & Bingham LLP

By Deirdre McGowan, Ph.D.

22 Inland Diving Company Stresses Importance of Regular Maintenance Exclusive IP interview with Mainstream Commercial Divers’ Craig Fortenberry

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Keeping Cargo Moving on the Columbia Snake River System

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2014 Issue 4

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ust like roads and railways, navigation infrastructure requires maintenance to ensure efficient and effective transportation. The Columbia Snake River System is due for significant improvements in the near future.

Many will recall the unprecedented 15-week planned closure of this system that occurred in winter 2010/2011.

Building on that event, the Portland and Walla Walla districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have continued their efforts to systematically evaluate inland infrastructure on the Columbia Snake River System, and target the highest priority repairs.

While all repairs are subject to funding through annual Energy and Water Appropriations, the two districts plan to conduct a similar coordinated maintenance closure in fiscal year 2017.

Extended closures of this kind are very unusual, but are necessary to maintain the integrity of the transportation system. Stakeholders and interest groups, including the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA), are already working proactively with the Corps to prepare for the closure and mitigate impacts to shippers wherever possible.

PLANNED MAINTENANCE PROTECTS THE EFFICIENCY OF THE RIVER SYSTEM

By Heather Stebbings

Pacific Northwest Waterways Association

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The Columbia Snake River System is a vital economic asset connecting the Northwest to the world. In 2012, the Lower Columbia River carried 46 million tons in international trade, valued at over $20 million.

Overall trade on the system, which directly supports 40,000 jobs in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, is expected to increase significantly in future years. Wheat, barley, petroleum products, fertilizer, hay cubes, peas, lentils, and containers full of merchandise are just a few examples of products travelling along the inland part of the system. In fact, the river system is the top wheat export gateway in the United States.

The river system includes a 110-mile deep draft navigation channel from the Pacific Ocean to Portland, Oregon.

The commercial waterway then continues 365 miles inland through eight navigation locks. These are the highest lift locks in the United States and are among the highest in the world, each reaching roughly 100 feet high. These locks have provided a fuel efficient, affordable transportation system for decades.

In order to remain competitive in tough global markets, Northwest businesses rely on consistent access to the river to move goods quickly and efficiently to their customers overseas. Unplanned delays due to emergency lock closures mean lost profits for those businesses. When lock components fail unexpectedly, the costs and delays are much greater than if those components had been repaired in a planned fashion.

Unlike many other river systems in the nation, the Columbia Snake River System does not have backup locks.

The Corps estimates that an emergency closure at one of the Columbia-Snake locks could last up to one year, as that is the time required to design, fabricate and install some of the larger components. Planned repairs, like the ones completed in 2011 and proposed for 2017, can be addressed in a few months with minimal impact to stakeholders.

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APPLYING BEST PRACTICES FROM PAST CLOSURES

During the winter 2010-2011 closure, the Corps completed significant repairs at three locks, as well as routine repairs at several others. As part of this project, the massive downstream miter gate at The Dalles Dam was replaced, as were the downstream lift gates at John Day and Lower Monumental dams.

Even though this closure was timed to have the least impact on the region, it still presented challenges to businesses that rely 6

on the river. Preparing stakeholders was a priority and significant undertaking for the Corps and PNWA. Over one year of extensive outreach was conducted to provide early notification to grain growers, shippers, ports, steamship operators, pilots, towboaters and government entities that the inland system would be out of service for 15 weeks.

PNWA and their partners launched a 14-month communications effort with over 30 speaking engagements and numerous

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news stories to educate stakeholders on the details of the closure and the value of the repairs. This information could then be passed along to their customers, protecting valuable business partnerships.

PNWA partnered closely with U.S. Wheat Associates to ensure that major overseas buyers of American wheat were aware of the closure and the investments being made to ensure their trade with the Northwest was protected for years to come.

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The Corps also conducted tours of the navigation projects, held regular teleconferences, and provided weekly website updates to keep stakeholders updated and aware of any changes to the schedule.

As a result of early outreach, businesses had time to identify logistical alternatives and communicate with overseas customers about the temporary closure of the river system. The main commodities affected by inland system closures in this region are wheat, petroleum, and containerized waste.

During the 2010-2011 closure, towing companies had to temporarily lay off members of their staff due to reduced activity, but provided continuity in benefits and part-time options to retain their highly skilled workforce until repairs were completed.

The Port of Portland offered financial incentives to impacted businesses and coordinated alternative transportation for containers. Wheat growers explored a range of options for continuing to move their crops to market, including selling earlier in the year, increasing storage, and using trucks and rail as a temporary alternative to barging. The work paid off – wheat volumes moved before and after the closure increased sharply over historic averages.

Despite short-term challenges, stakeholders were supportive of the repairs because of the value of the infrastructure improvements. While overall transportation costs for commodities moved by truck or rail increased during the outage, the repairs to the system provide long-term economic benefits and continued reliability that outweigh the brief setbacks.

components on this scale requires extensive preparation and funding. PNWA, the Corps of Engineers, and other groups will all be collaborating with stakeholders in the years leading up to the closure to advocate for federal support to fully prepare for one coordinated event.

Applying the best practices developed during the 2010/2011 repairs, stakeholders will once again receive the information and support needed to keep business moving. With the next set of infrastructure repairs, the river system will remain a powerful national asset to handle increased waterborne commerce in the decades to come. IP For more, visit them online at www. pnwa.net or e-mail Heather Stebbings, Government Relations Director, at heather.stebbings@pnwa.net.

PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY TO ENSURE MINIMAL IMPACT TO BUSINESS DURING THE NEXT CLOSURE

The next extended closure is tentatively planned for the winter of 2016- 2017, depending on the availability of federal funding. The current Corps estimate is that this closure will last 14 weeks, although this timeline will be revised as needed once the design process is complete.

Routine maintenance will be conducted throughout the river system, and critical repairs are proposed for The Dalles, Lower Monumental, Ice Harbor, and Little Goose navigation projects.

The fabrication and installation of 2014 Issue 4

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Bio-Based Lubricants Allow Eco-Friendly Dredging B

within the strict safety regulations enforced in the marine dredgased in Ottawa, Ill., Pro-Dive, Inc. is a professional undering arena. If a spill or leak occurs in a marine environment, damwater construction, repair, inspection and salvage company. age liability costs can add up to more than $30,000, not includThe family-owned business has been in operation for nearly 38 ing other remediation costs and years of toxicity in the water. years, conducting repairs and maintenance in a variety of inland In an effort to avoid heavy fines and safety concerns by using environments, including potable water storage facilities, pipelines, bridges, dams, search and salvage, power plants and dredg- traditional petroleum-based hydraulic fluids, Pro-Dive turned ing. Pro-Dive is committed to providing dependable, efficient diving and dredging solutions to their customers A Pro-Dive commercial diver is no stranger in a hazard-free environment. to brown water. The company is a longtime Pro-Dive’s dredging services inmember of the Association of Diving Contractors International. clude routine diver-operated dredging under riverboat casinos and related docks. Using an IMS Versi-Dredge machine that often stays in the water for long periods of time, the company must adhere to environmental regulations regarding spills and leaks. Other underwater operations include diving, underwater construction, demolition and inspections.

The company uses underwater hydraulic tools for a majority of their work including PortaCo and Stanley power units, hydraulic pumps, anchor drills, jack hammers, chop saws and chain saws. Other projects include working with large contractors to build new water intakes, bridges, dams and other structures along the inland waterways. to EnviroLogic 132, a readily biodegradable hydraulic fluid from Pro-Dive’s dredging operations require a hydraulic fluid that RSC Bio Solutions. The non-hazardous lubricating fluid is deis safe and non-hazardous to the environment. The company is rived from plant-based technology, making it safe for all ISO 32 very concerned about its environmental footprint and staying 10

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grade hydraulic systems.

Pro-Dive has relied on EnviroLogic for approximately eight years to meet EPA and other regulatory standards, and EnviroLogic is completely compatible with its dredging equipment.

Pro-Dive chose this type of lubricating fluid because, unlike petroleum-based fluids, the EnviroLogic series does not leave sheen in the water in the event of a spill or leak due to its biobased and plant-derived properties. Pro-Dive also appreciated the readily biodegradable timeframe and minimal clean-up cost that EnviroLogic provides in the event of a spill or leak.

“In our business, safety and maintaining a hazard-free environment are of the utmost importance. When looking for a suitable hydraulic fluid, we knew that our dredging machine required something that would not harm the environment and avoid major fines from the EPA and other regulatory entities,” said Justin Scherf, Pro-Dive’s vice president of operations.

“We’ve used EnviroLogic for years and will continue using the fluid in the future for its safety features.”

Spills and leaks are a fact of life in the dredging industry, but using the right products can make all the difference in terms of cost and environmental impact. Because Pro-Dive had been using EnviroLogic when the company experienced a leak, it was extremely pleased with the ease in clean up and minimal remediation costs. These costs would have been crippling had they been using traditional oil-based lubricating fluid.

Pro-Dive found that the EPA and other regulatory bodies were grateful that the company had used a bio-based solution and were thus less inclined to impose major fines because of the bio-based fluid and fast biodegradability time. IP Pro-Dive works in many inland environments, including potable water storage facilities, pipelines, bridges, dams, and power plants.

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With the Panama Canal in the midst of a massive widening project, some experts are debating whether the American west or east coast will benefit more after the canal is completed.

However, other experts believe the real impact will be in the Gulf of Mexico.

Steve Hawks, Port of Catoosa Logistics Coordinator, doesn’t believe large containers will come to the Gulf of Mexico. However, as outlined in the following IP interview, he believes there will be a significant increase in small loads of cargo from the Panama Canal through the Port of New Orleans, and eventually to the Tulsa Port of Catoosa.

Tulsa Port of Catoosa Ready for Panama Canal Boom What specific impacts do you expect for the Gulf of Mexico, and, in turn, inland ports along the Mississippi, when Panama Canal expansion is complete?

The Panama Canal expansion is expected to be completed at approximately the same time as our main dock renovation project. There have been many studies on what the Panama Canal expansion will mean for import and export movement in the US. While no conclusions from these studies are definite, we anticipate an increase in movement of dry cargo, break bulk and possibly containers to the Gulf ports, and if that happens, 12

additional movement towards the inland river ports of the U.S. We will monitor these movements and exploit all opportunities to enhance the use of the waterway and our Port. We will also work with steamship lines to help them understand the convenience and cost-savings that can be attained by utilizing our Port, our customs clearance services and our Foreign Trade Zone.

Why do you think prognosticators are incorrect in expecting large containers coming into the GOM? We do think forty foot containers inlandportmagazine.com • @inlandportmag

will begin moving into the Gulf after the Panama Canal expansion is complete.

Currently when a container vessel moves toward the Port of LA/Long Beach, there is often a line of ships waiting to come in to be offloaded. Sometimes that can take up to two weeks. The congestion on the roadways and railways in the U.S. can further delay shipments arriving at the west coast. In that amount of time, (or less), that vessel could have moved through the Panama Canal and arrived at the Port of New Orleans. Once there, these containers could easily be transloaded to barges for further transport on the inland river 2014 Issue 4

What about reports that the expansion may not be finished on time, as hoped?

That would give us more time to ensure our main dock is ready to handle more freight. The timing of the Panama Canal completion is insignificant for us. If it is not completed in a reasonable time, that simply means that the Suez Canal might get traffic that the Panama Canal could have enjoyed.

What type of economic impact does your port have for your region now, and how will this be affected?

We know that if the navigation system did not exist, shipping costs for industry would increase by 15 percent due to the loss of overall multi-modal competition. We also know that if we did not have the McClellanKerr Arkansas River Navigation System, the economic loss to the state of Oklahoma

system of the U.S. Total travel time being approximately the same.

Further, shippers and importers are becoming more sophisticated. They can now review their supply chain and make better transportation and logistics decisions. Even if there were not congestion challenges at the ports and with highway and rail, the total landed cost of moving a product on the water is typically less costly than using an alternative modes. And, it is greener. By moving only one barge of containers per week from the Gulf to most inland ports, we can save shippers over a half million dollars per year.

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would be around $2 million per day. In addition to that, the potential loss of the 8,000 jobs created by the waterway in Oklahoma would be devastating.

Are you either fortifying existing facilities, or even building new ones, in anticipation of the Panama Canal traffic?

Part of the reason why we applied for, and received, a matching TIGER grant from the USDOT was to improve our capability to handle container- on- barge operations in preparation for the improvements at the Panama Canal or expansion of the Suez Canal or just a shift in container operations. That includes a new concrete apron, new 300-ton gantry crane, improvements and repair to our existing 200-ton crane, a new transit shed, new rail access and the expansion of the main wharf by about 40 percent.

What other exciting things are going on with your port new tenants, equipment or technology?

The main dock renovation is a great project. Upon completion, we will be able to accommodate 90 percent of the existing deck barge fleet under our new 300-ton crane. That will offer our manufacturers the capability to bid on larger projects at a lower handling cost making them more competitive. It will also take

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some of the traffic off of our low water, roll-on-roll-off, wharf making it more available to the huge projects it is capable of handling. It will greatly improve our rail access to both cranes. Our new covered in-transit storage facility will then be located away from the main wharf leaving an open dock area for complete flexibility of loading and handling barge cargo.

Our state-of-the art Oklahoma Maritime Education Center opened its doors two months ago. It includes touchscreen interactive videos and informative exhibits that show the importance of our port and the navigation system to visitors. We have started an outreach program to bring participants into the MEC and to get information from the MEC into the classrooms. Additionally, some attention will be placed on developing information for presentation at the MAKRNS Lock and Dam 17 and at visitors’ centers throughout Oklahoma.

What are your thoughts on our industry educating not only politicians, but potential customers?

Shippers, importers and 3PLs are becoming more sophisticated because they are more knowledgeable. There are more measurement tools in their “toolkit.” They are talking supply chain instead of just transportation, purchasing, distribution or logistics.

But, there are still those that need more information. Very few schools offer barge shipping education. We must continually educate and in some cases change opinions just to get them to even look at inland waterway options.

But as they discover the inland waterways, they tend to use them more frequently. IP

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New Maritime Education Center Open to Public

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he Tulsa Port of Catoosa opened the doors to a new Maritime Education Center in May. It is an interactive forum to educate students and the general public about the importance of water transport to the economy.

“Our Port staff has been working on this education center for a significant amount of time,” said Bob Portiss, Port Director. “It is vitally important for everyone to know the value of our Port and the inland waterway system.”

The Maritime Education Center features interactive video kiosks where visitors can learn about the Port’s history and economic impact on Oklahoma. There are also floor maps highlighting the inland waterway system and the Port's location in global trade.

Facts about the Port and artifacts from companies that utilize the Tulsa Port of Catoosa are incorporated throughout the center as well.

The space used for the education center previously housed the Arkansas River Historical Society Museum. The new education center expands on that concept to show how states along the Arkansas River rely on the Tulsa Port of Catoosa.

“Our story isn’t just about a port on the Arkansas River,” said Portiss. “It is about an international port, providing efficient shipping that keeps lowers transportation costs in Oklahoma. It also gives our state the ability to ship cargo that could not be shipped using other forms of transportation because of its size and weight.”

Admission at the Maritime Education Center is free and people of all ages are welcome. Some Tulsa area schools have already taken advantage of the education center for field trips.

“Our future business leaders in the community are already taking a renewed interest in the waterway,” said David G. Page, Chairman of the City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority. “The Maritime Education Center demonstrates the impact the waterway has on the entire region.” IP

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Recent Maritime Law Case Summaries

By Paul J. Loftus, Huddleston Bolen, LLP, and Katherine E. Beyer, University of Kentucky College of Law SEAMAN STATUS Nanquin v. Elevating Boats, LLC, 744 F.3d 927 (5th Cir. 2014). (Mar. 10, 2014).

After a falling crane hit a vessel repair supervisor, the Fifth Circuit ruled that he was a seaman under the Jones Act. He did the ship’s work and had a substantial connection in duration and nature to the ship, as he spent around 70% of his time repairing and operating cranes on vessels, which exceeds the Supreme Court’s 30% standard under Chandris. In determining he was a seaman, the court also considered that he faced maritime perils while on vessels docked or anchored in navigable water.

Martin v. Fab-Con, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31913 (E.D. La. Mar. 12, 2014).

VESSEL STATUS Martin v. Fab-Con, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38523 (E.D. La. Mar. 24, 2014).

After a galley hand slipped in a barge’s laundry room, the court ruled that the quarterbarge that simply functioned as a “floating hotel” was not a vessel under the Lozman standard. The barge has no rudder or steering mechanism, is incapable of self-propulsion, has remained stationary for most of the past several years, and is similar to living quarters on land. Although the barge had a generator, a slightly raked hull, and bottom below water, these were not sufficient to render it a vessel.

JONES ACT – NON-PHYSICAL INJURY Skye v. Maersk Line, Ltd. Corp., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 9017 (11th Cir. 2014). (May 15, 2014).

Chief mate brought suit against employer for injuries arising from work-related stress. The Eleventh Circuit overturned a jury award of $2.36 million, ruling that employee’s injury is not recoverable.

The Jones Act does not allow seaman to recover for injuries caused by work-related stress because work-related stress is not a “physical peril,” and stress injuries are not caused by physical impact or fear of physical impact.

JONES ACT – WRONGFUL DEATH Billingsley v. Alberici Constructors, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38830 (W.D. Ky. Mar. 24, 2014).

Deckhand fell off of a barge and was accidentally crushed between two barges. The court ruled that damages are limited for wrongful death suits under 16

the Jones Act and that specific claims for damages are not recoverable including loss of society and lost future earnings. Also, because the living plaintiff was a nondependent parent of the deceased seaman, he could not bring a wrongful death suit on behalf of the deceased child.

INTERVENTION & SUBROGATION LIEN – VOLUNTARY PAYMENTS Chenevert v. Travelers Indemn. Co., 746 F.3d 581 (5th Cir. 2014). (Mar. 7, 2014).

Crane operator fell while working on a barge.

Insurer voluntarily paid medical expenses under the LHWCA, but employee still brought suit for negligence. The Fifth Circuit found that under the Jones Act an insurer who makes voluntary payments under the LHWCA on behalf of an employer receives a subrogation lien on any recovery under the Jones Act by the employee for any injuries for which the insurer has already compensated him.

COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE STANDARD— CIRCUIT SPLIT Barlow v. Liberty Mar. Corp., 746 F.3d 518 (2nd Cir. 2014). (Mar. 4, 2014).

Deck hand was injured while attempting to evade danger from a parting line. The Second Circuit found him to be partially liable under the “reasonable seaman standard” because the court considered his actions unreasonable, taking into account the emergency and possibility of harm to others.

The Second Circuit rejected the Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Circuit’s “rescue doctrine,” in which a seaman can only be found contributorily liable if his actions were wanton or reckless. The Second Circuit’s “reasonable seaman standard” places a higher burden on sea workers to act reasonably to evade liability in contributing to their own injury.

VESSEL OWNER LIABILITY UNDER LONGSHORE & HARBOR WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT Blanchard v. Weeks Marine, Inc., 2014 U.S. Dist.

LEXIS 50475 (E.D. La. Apr. 11, 2014).

Harbor worker injured by steel plate brought suit against the vessel owner, who was not found liable.

A vessel owner can be liable to a longshoreman injured during stevedoring operations: 1) if the vessel owner fails to warn on turning over the ship of hidinlandportmagazine.com • @inlandportmag

den defects of which he should have known; 2) for injury caused by hazards under the control of the ship; 3) if the vessel owner fails to intervene in the stevedore’s operations when he has actual knowledge both of the hazard and that the stevedore, in the exercise of obviously improvident judgment, means to work on in the face of it and therefore cannot be relied on to remedy it. Defendant was not liable because Defendant did not breach his duty to warn, the hazard was under Plaintiff’s control, and Defendant could not have intervened.

CLEAN WATER ACT LIABILITY United States v. B.P. Exploration & Prod. Inc. (In re Deepwater Horizon), 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 10425 (5th Cir. La. June 4, 2014).

Well’s blowout protector failed and oil flowed through an offshore drilling vessel, the Deepwater Horizon, and then into the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Government brought suit against the well owner under the Clean Water Act. The Fifth Circuit found the well owner liable because civil liability for a discharge arises regardless of knowledge, intent, or fault. Shared fault is only considered a mitigating factor in assessing a penalty and fault cannot be shifted, so any fault of the owners of the Deepwater Horizon could not exempt the well owners from liability. And although the oil flowed through the drilling vessel first, the well owner’s liability was unaffected by the path the oil took before reaching the water.

JURISDICTION IN FELA SUIT Bynum v. Norfolk S. Ry. Co. (In re Norfolk S. Ry. Co.), No. 13-2112, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 11749, 2014 WL 2809069 (4th Cir. Va. June 23, 2014).

Brakeman who was injured on railroad tracks and receiving benefits under the LHWCA filed an additional FELA claim in state court that was removed to federal court. The Fourth Circuit determined that the federal courts do not have jurisdiction over the matter, as FELA claims must be heard in state court when a plaintiff chooses to file in state court. The state court was left to determine whether a railroad employee with LHWCA benefits can also maintain FELA action against his railroad employer. IP Compiled by Paul J. Loftus, Esq., Huddleston Bolen, LLP, ploftus@huddlestonbolen.com, and Katherine E. Beyer, University of Kentucky College of Law, Class of 2015, katherine.beyer@uky.edu.

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TOP VESSEL-TRACKING TRENDS FOR 2014: A Mid-Year Update

By Dean Rosenberg, Director - PortVision, Oceaneering International Inc.

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arlier this year I shared my top 10 vessel-tracking trends for maritime professionals to watch during 2014. Since then, I have had the opportunity to interact with hundreds of vessel-tracking users through our PortVision industry outreach activities.

During this time, PortVision was acquired by Oceaneering International, a global oilfield services company with its own thriving marine vessel-tracking business unit. As we move through the second half of the year, I thought it would be helpful to update these trends based on current market activity: Trend #1: Improving real-time visibility and decision-making. Advances in Automatic Identification System (AIS)-based vessel-tracking tools and technology will deliver new capabilities, moving the industry beyond simple “points on a map” that need to be manually aggregated and analyzed, to on-demand and immediately actionable business insights and intelligence. The coming generation of tools will give waterway users real-time answers to a variety of critical business process-optimization questions regarding each mile-marker, terminal, berth, anchorage and buoy.

Mid-year update: Real-time visibility of vessels continues to be important. However, large organizations (like the oil majors) are increasingly demanding a “common operating picture” or COP that encompasses much more than just vessel positions. Today’s COPs are built on enterprise GIS platforms such as those provided by market leader ESRI. An enterprise COP displays real-time vessel data, but also fuses that data with mission-critical overlays such as weather, pipeline infrastructure, and non-vessel assets across the maritime domain.

Trend #2: Improving marine terminal efficiencies. The world’s largest oil companies are placing growing importance on optimizing marine operations in the petrochemical supply chain using a new category of terminal management software that integrates dock management, scheduling, reporting and analytics with AIS-based vessel-tracking services. These tools are bringing enterprise-class efficiency to marine terminal operations while providing continuous visibility to all dock and vessel activities, enabling senior management to cut costs and labor requirements, optimize the supply chain, and drive better business decisions.

Mid-year update: Marine terminal managers are getting smarter about leveraging both vesseltracking data and dock/berth activity data to drive specific business outcomes. This data supports monitoring the business against key performance indicators (KPIs), and using these KPIs to drive efficiency and better interact with vendors, partners, and regulators.

Trend #3: Handling the flood of waterway traffic hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast. The recent flood of crude oil shipments from new finds in the Dakotas, West Texas, Mexico and other locations will continue to put the spotlight on marine transportation efficiency and how to streamline operations, reduce costs, increase visibility and enhance business intelligence. Today’s enterprise tools with dock and jetty scheduling and optimization capabilities are contributing to significant increases in vessel traffic-handling capacity, enabling the marine trans2014 Issue 4

portation infrastructure to meet an unprecedented increase in volume demands.

Mid-year update: The flood rushes on. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. oil production jumped more than 50 percent between 2008 and 2013 to nearly 8 million barrels a day, and by 2016, domestic oil production will pass the historic high set in 1970 of 9.6 million barrels per day. Much of the shale production is being shipped to the Gulf Coast via marine transportation on inland waterways. Consider the growing traffic burden created in the region by inland barges, alone. According to RBN Energy LLC, crude by barge traffic has grown 8-fold in the past three years, and barges are already more than 90 percent utilized ahead of continued growth in demand.

This growing barge traffic adds to what already was a critical need for marine transportation efficiency in the Gulf Coast – a region which, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is now home to two of the 10 busiest ports in the world (South Louisiana and Houston) and six of the top ten sea ports in the U.S. Trend #4: Controlling demurrage costs. Always important, effective demurrage management has become increasingly significant given the scarcity of Jones Act vessels available to ship oil and refined products between U.S. ports. Tanker rates have soared, and there is an increased focus on minimizing demurrage costs for Jones Act vessels, which is significantly easier to accomplish with the advent of AIS-based vessel-monitoring services and tools with a proven track record in this application.

Mid-year update: Jones Act tanker rates continue to skyrocket following the December 2013 news that ExxonMobil had paid a record $110,000 per day for a Jones Act tanker. In May, Arctic Securities analyst Erik Nikolai Stavseth was quoted saying that the firm’s freight rate estimate in the period 2014-2020 “ranges between $75,00 and $100,000 per day.” It is increasingly critical that the companies chartering these Jones Act vessels have a highly efficient and accurate way of tracking, validating and managing demurrage costs.

Trend #5: Collaborating to improve data accuracy and decision-making. Controlling costs related to transporting petroleum between marine terminals involves a number of dynamic and diverse factors.

This is important across all segments of the marine transportation industry, but can be an especially high-stakes endeavor for traders, who frequently rely most heavily on often-imprecise anecdotal and per-barrel costs for their trading decisions. There is a growing trend to cross-organizational collaboration as a more accurate way to gather and quantify transportation costs. This requires tools that allow all departments involved with cost collection to share information, whether about capital projects along the waterway or extended dock outages at public terminals that consistently increase travel time and transportation efficiency.

Mid-year update: As new oil discoveries have reshaped energy markets, there has simultaneously been a shift in the commodities trading industry during the first half of 2014, with investment banks inlandportmagazine.com • @inlandportmag

like Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase and, more recently, Credit Suisse Group AG either exiting or significantly reducing their commodities trading units. Pure-play commodities traders have filled the gap by expanding their footprints, and national oil companies have become more active players, as well, fueling the ongoing need for the best possible intelligence, derived from solid analytics and a high level of collaborative data sharing.

Trend #6: Simplifying vessel “fit” management.

Configuration data is critical in vessel evaluation -- each terminal has unique restrictions, and all relevant ship characteristics must be compared with current terminal condition and restrictions. This has traditionally created a complex decision matrix when scheduling dock jobs, but the industry is now moving to enterprise terminal management tools that streamline the dock scheduling process while making it easier to match existing ship and cargo characteristics with the terminal’s dock restrictions, warn schedulers when there is a dock fit conflict, and support all key processes associated with dock fit, dock scheduling, and dock activity logging.

Mid-year update: The Gulf Coast terminal infrastructure is growing during 2014 in response to the increased capacity demand fueled by new oil finds, but not enough to stay ahead of the flood.

An example is the Port of Corpus Christi, which is producing more than 20 times the 55,000 barrels it produced only four years ago and has launched approximately $22 billion in new dock construction, with additional plans to widen and deepen its main navigation channel. This won’t solve today’s problems, though -- the other piece of the solution is to maximize the efficiency of existing infrastructure, which is where vessel fit management plays an increasingly important role. This will become even more important as a new generation of significantly larger ships arrives, further straining port facilities and operations.

Trend #7: Strengthening industry’s focus on safety. With the goal of improving safety and environmental protection standards, the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), through its Marine Terminal Management and Self Assessment (MTMSA) guide, has established standardized Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and best practices that terminal operators and their service providers can use to assess management system effectiveness for berth operations and the ship-to-shore interface. Major oil companies are increasingly using these guidelines to evaluate terminals. The latest terminal enterprise software suites simplify compliance, enabling terminal operators to monitor and assess fleet-related TMSA KPIs that involve high levels of data integration, a collaborative approach to managing voyages, and the ability to move information across departments. These tools can also be used for other safety initiatives, including alerting terminal dock construction teams when commercial vessel traffic approaches, or alerting vessels in designated pipeline monitoring zones so they can avoid any contact with the bottom.

Mid-year update: Vessel casualties and oil spills in ports and waterways during the first half of 17

2014 raised new concerns about maritime transportation safety. But at least through mid-2014, the focus continues to be on implementing and enforcing existing regulations rather than enforcing new ones. Companies continue to rely on commercial vessel tracking systems such as PortVision to manage real-time operations, support incident response, and augment compliance, enforcement, and litigation activities.

Trend #8: Supporting sustainability initiatives.

AIS data is emerging as an ideal tool in a number of sustainability initiatives. For instance, it is being used to determine and monitoring participation in voluntary vessel speed reduction (VSR) initiatives that have significantly cut emissions at major ports and waterways. Another example is the OCIMF’s proposal to reduce carbon emissions through “virtual tendering,” rather than allowing vessels to run at full sea speed toward the load/discharge port within the laycan and then sit there for several days. Instead, terminals would identify a vessel’s available berthing time well before arrival. The vessel would then slow to accommodate jetty availability, but would be allowed to log arrival time as though she had proceeded at charter speed. AIS-based tools can make this possible by accurately predict arrival times given weather conditions and other external factors, and helping manage subsequent vessel scheduling in a manner flexible enough to support berthing upon arrival.

Mid-year update: These and other sustainability initiatives are only growing in importance.

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) has capped sulfur

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oxide (Sox) emission limits at 01% sulphur fuel by 2015. Significant emissions reductions have been realized at numerous U.S. ports and the push is on to reduce them even further. For instance, the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (a dual effort by the Port of LA and Long Beach) is forecasting reductions of up to 77 percent diesel particulate matter and 59 percent NOx by 2023.

Trend #9: Moving AIS into new marine transportation applications. We will also see AISbased tools taking on new roles. One potential area is aids to navigation (ATON), which typically means lighthouses, buoys and beacons but can also extend to AIS data as a “virtual ATON.” Using AIS, an authority can transmit navigation information where no physical ATON exists, by sending addressed messages to a specific wheelhouse. AIS safety-related messages can also be broadcasted to all vessels within range of the broadcasting base station. While a new concept, AIS-based virtual ATONs have been used in several applications within U.S. waters including broadcasting weather and sea state information, and notifying mariners regarding area whale migration activity. We expect to see more in the future.

Mid-year update: I spoke on this subject in May before the US House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, at the invitation of Chairman Duncan Hunter. The purpose of the hearing was to focus on new ocean technologies, how these technologies can improve government performance, and any impediments that exist in the use of these technologies. In addition to the many AIS applications listed in this original trends

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list, I shared with the subcommittee a number of new, emerging marine transportation applications.

For instance, we are now working with the Coastal and Marine Operators (CAMO) trade association on a pipeline, bridge and offshore asset protection system that proactively notifies vessels and pipeline operators when there is imminent risk of pipeline restructure damage. Another application is using AIS to identify bad actors and drive regulatory compliance, including an initiative being driven by the Offshore Marine Service Association to enforce Jones Act laws.

Trend #10: Averting disaster. The industry is moving to a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to incident management by taking advantage of AIS data. Viewpoints and understanding of AIS data were previously very limited in the spill and incident response world. However, plotting real time vessel positions, alone, can provide immediate visibility to key vessel information. As AIS and other asset tracking capabilities become an integral part of incident response plans and are regularly exercised, the industry will see a significant return on investment.

Mid-year update: AIS data was used to support response and follow-up forensics after a number of early 2014 incidents, and these afterthe-fact capabilities are growing in importance with the continuing increase in traffic. Even better, AIS data is being used preemptively to avoid incidents, altogether. AIS data is also being used in risk assessment models for a variety of purposes. As uses of AIS data become more pervasive, it will have an important impact on incident avoidance. IP

2014 Issue 4

Industry Leaders Voice Concerns about Clean Water Act T

Amy W. Larson, Esq. President and CEO National Waterways Conference

Steven A. Burns Partner Balch & Bingham LLP

he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)(collectively “agencies”) have jointly issued a proposed rule to define the scope of waters within the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. Contending that the rulemaking is necessary to “clarify” the scope of the Act as a result of uncertainty created by recent decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, the agencies assert the rulemaking will not expand jurisdiction but instead will lessen confusion over the Court’s rulings.

A review of the proposed rule, however, reveals quite the opposite – a significant federal overreach. What follows is a brief synopsis of the proposed rulemaking. The agencies are accepting comments until October 20, and interested parties are encouraged to weigh in.

As a threshold matter, the agencies’ action is beyond their statutory authority. The proposal is not simply a “clarification,” as the agencies suggest as a way to bypass the legislative process. Instead, it misconstrues the “significant nexus” test in Justice Kennedy’s concurring opinion in the leading case on this issue, Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (2006),in a manner that impermissibly expands jurisdiction, a decision which properly rests with the Congress.

Justice Kennedy’s concurring opinion establishes a “significant nexus” test for determining jurisdiction. However, the proposed rule effectively reads the word “significant” out of the test and would establish jurisdiction even in some instances where there is no hydrologic connection at all. The most apparent, but not the only, departure from the Kennedy concurrence comes when comparing his instructions to identify impacts to the “chemical, physical, and biological” integrity of traditional navigable waters, with the agencies’ substitution of “chemical, physical, or biological” integrity – an undeniably broader test than Justice Kennedy articulated.

The proposal also creates sweeping and vague definitions of several new terms, including “adjacent” and “tributary,” establishing new, expansive categories of jurisdictional areas that lack a significant nexus to traditionally navigable waters. Similarly, the definition of “riparian area” is especially troubling for its breadth and ambiguity, establishing an amorphous and potentially far-reaching standard. In this regard, the proposal is not only unclear and overly broad, but it violates the law as established in Rapanos.

Many agricultural groups have voiced their opposition to the rule, and a review of the treatment of ditches would be useful in this regard. For instance, even areas that lack a hydrologic connection to a traditional navigable water can be deemed jurisdictional under the proposal’s expansive test. Virtually any discernible downstream effect—such as the retention of any amount of upstream drainage, or a function resulting in the addition of any substance that the agencies may deem to be a nutrient, sediment, or pollutant—is sufficient to confer jurisdictional status. That is not a plausible interpretation of Justice Kennedy’s opinion.

The agencies exclude from jurisdiction those ditches that ‘are excavated wholly in uplands, drain only uplands, and have less than perennial flow,’ and those that ‘do not contribute flow, either directly or through another water,’ to various other categories of jurisdictional waters. Those exclusions are categorical, but the categories are tiny. Water flows downhill; the water in an upland ditch is no exception. Further, even if the ditch drains to a feature that generally contains water in an upland area, such that it does not typically affect downstream waters, the agencies’ ‘fill and spill’ theory means jurisdiction can be found on the basis of periodic overflow.

A reasonable reading of the proposed rule would lead to the conclusion that the very drainage ditches considered in Rapanos—the same ones, according to the Court, that the agencies improperly brought within the Act’s jurisdiction—are jurisdictional. However, Justice Kennedy indicated that a ditch ought not to be jurisdictional where it is “located many miles from any navigable-in-fact water and carry only insubstantial flow towards it.”

In terms of impact, the cost-benefit analysis in the proposed rule severely underestimates its associated costs. The chosen baseline does not reasonably represent a normal level of permitting activity for evaluating the proposal’s economic impact. As a consequence, the economic analysis is fundamentally flawed.

Finally, the proposed rule improperly fails to account for the final scientific review of EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board, denying the public a reasonable opportunity to evaluate the agencies’ response to that review.

The proposed rule was initially released in March and published in the Federal Register on April 21, with comments due on July 20. However, after several requests, the agencies extended the comment period until October 20. Additional information is available at www.epa.gov/uswaters. IP

Amy W. Larson is President of the National Waterways Conference; Steven Burns, a Partner at Balch and Bingham, representing Alabama Power, serves as Counsel to the National Waterways Conference.

2014 Issue 4

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American Commercial Lines Chooses Cairo, Illinois C

airo, Illinois’ strategic location makes it the perfect site for American Commercial Lines (ACL) to service the 2,300 barges and 100 towboats in its U.S. fleet and expand intermodal transport, according to ACL. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, Cairo is the hub of America’s inland water system, providing direct access to all the major inland water routes in the U.S. ACL’s fleet of barges and towboats move much of the grain, steel, fuel and other commodities we use in the United States.

The Cairo facility employs 140 ACL workers who ensure that ACL’s fleet is able to deliver their cargo on schedule.

“We’re honored to have American Commercial Lines here in Cairo as an employer and a member of our community,” said Cairo Mayor Tyrone Coleman.

“We look forward to bringing more successful businesses like ACL to Cairo.”

More than 31,000 barges made their way past Cairo in 2013. According to ACL facility manager Mark Glaab, there is a clear opportunity to expand intermodal transport in Cairo and leverage the area’s unique access to rail, highway and river transport.

“Cairo’s strategic location gives ACL a business advantage,” said State Representative Brandon Phelps (D-Harrisburg). “We’re proud to have ACL here in Southern Illinois and we are committed to helping more businesses profit from the resources Cairo has to offer.”

The Cairo Economic Development committee provides support for businesses interested in locating to Cairo. As part of the Southernmost Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone, businesses located in Cairo are eligible for federal tax credits and support from USDA Rural Development. The committee brings awareness to Cairo's untapped potential., matching commercial investments with the opportunities that the area has to offer. An abundance of properties are being cleared and prepped for development. IP

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2014 Issue 4

Need Help with Grants? GAMA is Here for You

By Deirdre McGowan, Ph.D.

F

Port of New Orleans Awards Intermodal Terminal Contract

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he Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans awarded a $13.3 million construction contract to Metairie, La.-based Hard Rock Construction for the Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal improvement project at its monthly meeting. Hard Rock Construction was the lowest of eight bidders.

The 12-acre project will result in a modern and efficient intermodal container transfer terminal to facilitate the movement of marine and rail cargo, while enhancing safety and reducing the carbon footprint of the regional and national transportation system.

“We are thrilled to see this project moving forward,” said Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange. “New Orleans is the only U.S. seaport with all six U.S. Class One railroads with 132,000 miles of connecting rail tracks.

I want to again thank the entire Louisiana Congressional delegation for their support of this project, without which we would not be at this point today.”

The Port received a $16.7 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant in 2012 for the project. U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter; U.S. Reps. Cedric Richmond, Steve Scalise, John Fleming, Bill Cassidy, Charles Boustany and former U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander all voiced support for the project to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The current project includes constructing a rail yard with 10,000 linear feet of track and five-acres of heavy-duty paving to be used for the efficient transfer of containers. The scope of the contract includes electrical, drainage and utility work, along with the installation of new water feeds to additional hydrants.

Existing rail lines currently moving cargo will be removed upon completion of the new tracks so intermodal service at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal will not be interrupted.

With the addition of new terminal equipment estimated at $3.5 million and engineering and project management services rendered by AECOM, the total project is estimated to be $21.013 million with completion expected in February of 2016.

The Port and the Louisiana Port Construction and Development Priority Program matched a portion of the federal grant to build an adjacent four-acre container marshalling yard at the upriver end of the Louisiana Avenue Terminal. The $4.1 million project was completed earlier this year. Combined, the $25.1 million investment is expected to create 100 permanent marine and cargo handling jobs. IP 2014 Issue 4

or seven years, we managed the $30 million in DHS / FEMA port security grants as the named Fiduciary Agent for Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals (IRPT). We focused on the port areas along the Mississippi River, from Memphis to Vicksburg and the southern tip of Lake Michigan, including northern Indiana, Chicago, and marine interests along the Illinois River. “Managing” is a simple word to describe the arduous process of ensuring full compliance with all of the FEMA regulations, the financial audits, the various procurement requirements, the payments and field audits, and never-ending reports.

In April, we visited the IRPT Membership Meeting in St. Louis to thank them for their faith in us and say goodbye. We were gratified by the closing applause and several thank you awards, but it was a bittersweet time.

Later that day, we were approached separately by several people representing different ports. FEMA had done away with the Fiduciary Agent process and advised the ports they would need to apply for any grants, and manage them, by themselves, starting with the 2012 grant cycle. It is a very challenging process, and they asked if we could do it for them.

It was over lunch the next day that three of us gathered to discuss organizing a company to do just that. I had served as Executive Director of both IRPT and IRPT-EP since the winter of 1999, and had already applied for, been awarded, and managed a Round I Grant for the Inland River System before starting to manage the 2007-2011 grants.

Roger Lindner, of Burlington River Terminal at Keokuk, Iowa, had served on the Board of Directors, including Chairman, for IRPT-EP. CAPT John Marks, USCG Ret., had served as the Program Manager, Port Security Grant (PSG) Program, where he managed $1.1 Billion dollars in PSG funds before joining IRPT-EP as sub-contractor to the Fiduciary Agent. He had adroitly managed the interface among the numerous sub-grantees, the Area Maritime Security Committees and the Fiduciary Agent.

During the discussion, we added someone with an additional skill-set, Randal Barr, who had replaced CAPT Marks in the USCG HQ Domestic Port Evaluations Office. Barr not only understands rules and regulations but knows exactly how to apply them. More extensive biographical information is available on LinkedIn or at www.gama-llc.com.

We decided to start a company that would offer assistance with grant application, management and administration for any entity that could use support working through the grants award system. What to do first? We named ourselves GAMA LLC, became incorporated, applied for the appropriate federal and state approvals, and submitted the documentation to be certified as a Woman Owned Small Business.

We were told that grant-writing is a very competitive business. There are grant writers who staff booths at expos and hustle business at every gathering. So we had to differentiate ourselves from the rest. We knew that no matter how impressive our credentials, people who had not worked with us already might not realize how a proven track record – of surviving every sort of audit, A-133 or report that FEMA could devise – enables us to hit the ground running. Working within and at times managing the system for seven years certainly provides additional insight.

What differentiates us is that we do not charge to apply for a grant. If a client can identify a valid need, we work with the client to develop and upload a grant application at no charge.

Only when a grant is awarded does a fee commence, and it’s an hourly charge based on work performed and invoiced. That projected cost is incorporated into the application budget. Perhaps more importantly, GAMA tracks and manages the grant from day one: every report, every requirement demanded by the granting agency is completed.

GAMA’s first request was to install a fifteen-port AIS system. The preliminary grant application is in the review process as this goes to press. The second request was to coordinate police, fire and harbor patrol purchases. During that planning session, a fire chief complained bitterly that getting a grant was the easy part – implementing it correctly and meeting all of the requirements was the difficult part. The level of service offered by GAMA certainly erased his expressed concerns.

We are looking at FEMA grants of all kinds – Hazard Mitigation Grants, Assistance to Firefighters Grants – and even those grants provided by state development authorities. We realize that identifying a potential grant and even being awarded the grant is only part of the process. Compliance is the key, and that’s GAMA’s specialty. IP For information on grant management assistance visit www.gama-llc.com, email mcgowandeirdre@gama-llc.com, or call 601-214-1649.

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Inland Diving Company Stresses Importance of Regular Maintenance Routines

An Exclusive Interview with Mainstream Commercial Divers’ Craig Fortenberry

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2014 Issue 4

construction and maintenance projects on numerous pipelines, water intake and outfall systems, large and small bridges, dams, stilling basins, mooring cells and mooring dolphins, docks, water storage tanks, wastewater treatment facilities, marine ways, and commercial vessels and barges. We routinely work at heavy construction sites, major industrial sites, power plants, and governmental sites.

In the Midwest currently, freshwater mussels are the most imperiled species in the waterways.

Prior to construction of waterborne facilities, whether they be ports, towboat or barge docking facilities, fleeting areas, etc., mussel surveys are generally required by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prior to issuing permits for constructing these facilities.

Prior to our company’s formation, MCDI’s founder, Craig Fortenbery, had an extensive background with mussel collection, identification, and surveying. Today, MCDI keeps on staff two certified malacologists (more commonly known as aquatic

Give our readers a brief history of Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. Do you concentrate on a specific region, or are you available for jobs all across the U.S.?

Mainstream Commercial Divers, Inc. (MCDI) is a full service underwater construction, maintenance, inspection, salvage, and diving company.

We have constructed, inspected, and maintained in-water structures of all types. As one of the largest inland commercial diving contractors in the United States, we have over 26 years of experience in all aspects of inland and coastal commercial diving and underwater construction.

Located in Murray, Kentucky, along the confluence of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee Rivers, MCDI is centrally located. Since 1988, MCDI has grown from a one-crew company operating out of a small shop to a company that has worked throughout the United States, and routinely has multiple crews deployed throughout many parts of the country at any given time.

What technical capability, or even a piece of equipment, sets you apart from other diving contractors?

Since the formation of our company in 1988, MCDI has made a conscious effort to provide a diverse number of services. We have a wide variety of equipment that allows us to perform many specialized services. We have personnel with extensive training and experience in underwater inspection and construction techniques and have successfully performed underwater inspection,

biologists specializing in freshwater mussels). Due to our combination of commercial diving background and extensive experience with unionid mussel research survey and collection techniques, MCDI is a recognized rarity in the field of commercial diving and has garnered great success with regard to freshwater mussel projects.

MCDI routinely works with scientific collecting equipment to make accurate assessments of water clarity, water quality, velocity, and sediment types, in addition to delivering quality quantitative and qualitative assessments of any mussel assemblage that we survey.

If endangered species are found, biological assessments have to be performed which we prepare and would address the potential impact on species as well as methods to mitigate impact.

MCDI does a large amount of hydrographic surveying for clients, engineering companies, etc. during design phases of projects on the river. We have in-house capability performing both singlebeam and multi-beam surveys, side scan sonar, and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiling (ADCP).

BARGES

The Greener Way to Go Inland barges produce less carbon dioxide while moving America’s important cargoes.

Inland barge transportation has the lowest carbon footprint of the other major modes. Moving identical amounts of cargo by rail generates 30% more carbon dioxide than by barge, and 1,000% more emissions by trucks than by barge.

801 N. Quincy St., #200 Arlington, Virginia 22203 703-373-2261 www.waterwayscouncil.org 2014 Issue 4

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As an example, there are several projects that are currently installing new hydroelectric facilities in existing USACE dams where our ADCP and hydrographic surveying data was utilized by others to create the models in order to determine on how to position the turbines within the existing dams for the best efficiency.

MCDI owns an entire fleet of sectional barges and offers crane service from our barges as well.

MCDI often supports engineering companies and contractors with our barges by providing floating support for drill rigs, construction equipment, and for our own in-house projects.

MCDI also owns its own company airplane, allowing our dive teams to mobilize to an emergency job much quicker. Accompanying the airplane is also a flying dive station. The fully equipped lightweight dive station is composed of lightweight umbilicals, etc. Recently, MCDI was called upon for an emergency ROV inspection at a hydroelectric dam facility in another state. In order to provide a prompt response, MCDI personnel mobilized our company ROV and dive crew via our company airplane and were onsite the next morning.

Also, we provide remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services. MCDI recently utilized a company ROV for the rescue of another company’s ROV that was entrapped in an intake tunnel. Had it been any closer to the intake’s turbine pumps, the trapped ROV would have likely been forced into the turbine pumps, leading to the emergency shutdown of the entire facility.

You are a longtime member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI). What should the port authorities and others who hire diving services in the inland sector know about the importance of hiring ADCI certified contractors?

MCDI meets or exceeds all OHSA regulations and the ADCI Consensus Standards for Commercial Diving. MCDI’s president and founder, Craig Fortenbery, has long served as a member of the ADCI Board of Directors and is currently serving as board president.

All commercial diving companies operating in the United States are required by law to follow and

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meet OSHA or United States Coast Guard safety regulations. Additionally, most commercial diving companies decide to become members of ADCI. Their goal is to educate clients on the importance of maintaining proper safety procedures while performing underwater operations and to promote communication within the commercial diving industry.

The ADCI developed the Consensus Standards for Commercial Diving and Underwater Operations that comply with State and Federal Regulatory guidelines while also meeting the consensus standard procedures.

When becoming an ADCI General Member, a commercial diving company agrees to adhere to all ADCI consensus standard procedures. Members pledge to comply with all safety procedures and only hire employees who meet the qualifications of an ADCI certified diver, such as proper education, and on-the-job training. An ADCI General Member is aware that their company is solely responsible for acquiring proper insurance that not only covers the company and its employees but also covers the contracting party from contractor negligance.

Which general services have you performed in the inland sector, at dams, locks, harbors, and port terminals?

MCDI is a full service construction, maintenance, repair, and salvage diving company. We have performed multiple services for the inland sector, including all types of marine construction and commercial diving, vessel repair and salvage, inspections, and surveys of all types.

dives. The divers were decompressing in companyowned decompression chambers on the barge deck, and to complicate the decompression schedule, the dive site was at high altitude. Prior to reaching the nearest hotel, you had to climb to an even higher elevation, which complicated the procedures for decompression as well.

It was a challenging job, but it was also a very interesting job because of those challenges.

MCDI also recently completed an intervention at a hydroelectric facility when we were called upon to mobilize a crew to the facility within 24 hours in Virginia due to the failure of a “working cable” that controlled one side of a moveable screen.

MCDI was able to utilize our company ROV to complete an inspection in water depths of up to 200 feet to determine where the cables were broken so that a plan could be put into place to make the unit operational again as soon as possible.

Because of this unplanned outage, substantial fines to the facility could result if the units were not able to be brought back online as needed. Due to the restricted time schedule, MCDI personnel worked with the facility management to develop a plan that created the least risk for our diving personnel in order to get the facility back running in a timely manner.

Mobilization efforts were also an issue due to the extremely narrow access to reach the dam. Not to mention, the location of the dam made it difficult to use necessary equipment that would typically be used on these types of projects. Eleven days after the initial call for inspection, the ROV and dive crew demobilized back to Murray, KY with the unit back online.

Do any of your past inland jobs stick out in mind as particularly challenging or eventful?

MCDI has performed many challenging jobs through the years. In fact, one of the interesting things about this industry is the fact that no job is ever exactly like the previous job.

Recently MCDI performed a job in North Dakota where we came in following two other diving companies who had failed to complete the job. The general contractor was well beyond the contract completion date, causing the work to occur during an unfavorable time of the year. In fact, it was winter in North Dakota, and we were diving through several feet of ice to complete the installation of a horizontally directionally drilled water intake.

Not only were we diving through ice, but it was also over 100 feet of water depth, which meant we were doing surface decompression on oxygen

In your experience being around these types of inland infrastructure over the years, what are the most commonly overlooked areas of inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) for port and terminal operators?

Objects such as piers, wharfs, timber pilings, intake systems, or any type of underwater infrastructure are often overlooked because they are often out of site and therefore out of mind for the client. Because these objects are often overlooked or ignored, deterioration or structural problems can occur. Administering routine visual and tactile inspections by qualified divers allows the facility to be aware of and to repair any problems the structures may have. By continuing to ignore the issue, further damage can occur, therefore causing the facility to replace the structure at a much higher cost instead of repairing it. IP

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2014 Issue 4