Pushing through the heartland of America, a giant towboat shoves barges south on the lllinois River. She can move as much cargo as 900 big trucks on highways. Photo: M. Gillen.
Trade Winds By Michael Gillen
At Harbor Place and Overlooking Historic Baltimore Harbor
The B/,ack Pearl An Intimate Tavern andan Elegant 19TH Century Dining Room
ENTERTAINMENT LUNCHEON SERVED DAILY FROM 11:30 AM DINNER FROM 6 PM
Superb French Cuisine Presented in the Warmth and Friendly Atmosphere of a Deepwater Sailorman's Tavern
TELEPHONE: 301-962-5050
The Black Pearl Baltimore Company PROPRIETORS James W. Ballard J. M. Dryden Hall, Jr. Barclay H. Warburton, III
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While the US mant1me indust ry in general languishes at a low ebb-could we go much lower than carrying less than a twentieth of our own overseas commerce in US-flag ships?-our Western Rivers navigation is flourishing. Called "Western" since the days when anything beyond the Appalachians was considered "Out West," the Mississippi River and its tributaries (Missouri, lllinois, Ohio, Arkansas, Tennessee and ot her rivers) have experienced steady growt h since the early 1940s. Barge traffic on all of the US inland waterways increased over 8 percent between 1970 and 1975 . And the actual number of dry-cargo barges increased by more than 20 percent between 1972 and 1977. All along the Western Rivers existing marine facilities are being revamped and enlarged. And new ones are being constructed or planned for the ineVitable increased needs of the future. Ground has been broken for a huge new riverport in Louisville, Kentucky, which will boast a vast warehouse complex and a foreign trade zone. To the south the enviro nmentally controversial Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Project is now progressing at full throttle. All these projects will stimulate growt h and employment along the Western Ri vers. Why is such growth and prosperity being recorded on the Western Ri vers, when elsewhere in the maritime industry just maintaining the status quo is viewed as a major accomplishment? For one thing, river transportation becomes more and more attractive, as opposed to rail and truck transportation, as the price of fuel continues to go up. Just one towboat, pushing a standard 15-barge tow (some push upwards to 35 or 40 barges), can accomplish what it would take either 250 jumbo railroad cars or 90 semi-trucks to do. So, whether it's grain, chemicals, coal or earth-moving equipment, it'll be cheaper to move if you can get it to a riverport. Each year the amount of raw materials and finished products hauled on the Western Rivers increases . Tremendous quantities of
energy-producing materials are hauled on the rivers-some 60 percent of all riverborne commerce-and if the "rediscovery" of coal continues to gain acceptance into the 1980s, this figure is bound to increase. So, the energy crunch has someth.ing to do with it, but it can't really take major credit for the growth we've seen on the Western Rivers in the last 40 years. So where does the credit lie? The answer, in a word, is legislation. The Merchant Marine Act of 1970 can take some of the credit, since it made available new sources of funding for ship, tug, towboat and barge construction. It clearly is the most significant piece of maritime legislation of the last 44 years. But why does the inland industry continues to grow while the deep-sea segment continue to spin its wheels? The answer-and now we're getting to the root of the problem-lies in a piece of legislation born in 1920: Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly called the " Jones Act." While foreignflag outfits dominate our deep-sea trade, and even now are encroaching on our offshore industry, the Jones Act reserves commerce moving from one US port to another for American vessels. This takes in our coastwise trade, and our inland trade, though the Virgin Islands Loophole allows commerce moving between there and the US mainland to be carried in foreign bottoms. So there, I believe, is the crux of the problem: our deep-sea industry does not have the protection that our inland indust ry has. It will take legislation, improved cargo preference legislation, to do it. This would require, by law, that greater percentages of our ocean-borne commerce be moved in US-flag vessels. More bilateral trade agreements, the negotiation of which could be mandated by Congress, would also ensure greater participation by our merchant marine in the hauling of our commerce. Only with such legislation as this will the deep-sea segment of our maritime industry enjoy the growth and prosperity now in evidence on the Western Rivers . .ti SIEA HISTORY, SUMMER 1980