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Aerial view of the rocks placed along the Crewboat Cut in the Atchafalaya River.
By ZACHARY FITZGERALD
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MORGAN CITY — After about eight years of planning and work, the Crewboat Cut is now officially the new federally authorized channel for vessels to travel through on the Atchafalaya River, according to port officials. U.S. Coast Guard personnel marked the Crewboat Cut last week, and the channel officially opened Wednesday, Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said. The buoys have been removed from Horseshoe Bend, which was the previously authorized channel, Wade said. “The Horseshoe is no longer there, and it will eventually fill in by itself,” Wade said. “The Crewboat Cut will just keep getting a little deeper and deeper for us.” Dredging of the Crewboat Cut was completed Aug. 4, Mike Lowe of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said at the August port meeting.
Submitted Photo Courtesy of PMI Nutrition International
The 360-foot ship Oslo Bulk 9 has begun landing at the Port of Morgan City
By ZACHARY FITZGERALD
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MORGAN CITY — PMI Nutrition International, a company owned by Land O’ Lakes, began bringing a 360-foot ship into the Port of Morgan City about three weeks ago, and a company official says it plans to export feed ingredients and import salt to the port as frequently as possible. Kevin Schluender, director of Ingredient Merchandising for Purina Animal Nutrition Inc., said any international business Purina Mills does is done through PMI Nutrition International. Purina Mills is also owned by Land O’ Lakes Inc. PMI Nutrition International is leasing the vessel that will be importing and exporting from the port, Schluender said. The ship coming will import salt into the U.S. and will export feed ingredients mostly to Mexico, Schluender said. The company’s ingredient merchandising business has been around since the 1970s, he said. The ship is about 360 feet long, 55 feet wide, 105 feet tall and holds roughly 6,000 tons, Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said. “It’s a beautiful sight to see something like that in the Port of Morgan City,” Wade said. The vessel came in to the port Tuesday night, which was its third trip to Morgan City in the past 18 days, Wade said. Within seven days to 10 days the ship will make its way back to Morgan City, Wade said. Unloading the ship takes about 24 hours, he said. Imported salt will be put on barges and shipped up north, he said.
The Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District welcomed Gary Duhon as its newest Commissioner during their July meeting. Duhon, appointed by St. Mary Parish Council, will replace former Commissioner William Pecoraro
Morgan City Rotary Club members learned of the activities and expansions of the Port of Morgan City from Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade at a recent luncheon. From left are Rotary President Donald Stephens; Tori Henry, port administrative assistant; Cindy Cutrera, Port manager of economic development; Greg Aucoin, a past port commissioner; Wade; and club program director Louis Tamporello Jr.
Wade spoke about the new Emergency Operations Center, the new tenants for the Port and other Port of Morgan City activities. From left are Tori Henry, port administrative assistant; Tim Matte, Kiwanis member; Cindy Cutrera, port economic development manager; and Wade.
Workers were driving test pilings Wednesday at the new Government and Emergency Operations Center in Morgan City. The center is expected to be in operation by the 2015 hurricane season.
U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, is trying to make sure the Port of Morgan City and other oil field ports receive proper credit for the value of cargo traveling through those ports, and in turn, provide more funding for river dredging, Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said today. In a Tuesday news release, Landrieu said she has added a provision that will require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to factor in the value of goods and equipment used in offshore energy production including fabrication, and servicing and supplying offshore rigs when deciding which projects to build and which channels to dredge. Landrieu is chairwoman of the Senate Energy and NaturalResources Committee. Coastal energy ports get shortchanged in corps funding, Landrieu said. “The corps can count dirt, but not drilling mud,” Landrieu said. “They can track textile products, but not the topsides that produce energy off our coasts. It is time that this nation begins recognizing the value of our domestic energy industry and investing in the basic infrastructure it needs to grow and prosper,” Landrieu said. The new provision is part of the annual appropriations bill that funds the Department of Energy and the Corps of Engineers. The bill is expected to receive final approval from the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday, according to the new release. The current corps process prioritizes projects based on the tonnage that moves in and out of a port, the news release said. However, the process fails to capture much of the specialized cargo handled by Louisiana’s energy ports, which include Port Fourchon, the Port of Terrebonne, the Port of Iberia, the Port of Morgan City, Plaquemines Parish Port, Harbor and Terminal District, and the Port of Lake Charles putting them at an unfair disadvantage as they compete for limited corps funding, the release stated.
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 Ports Association of Louisiana |
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