[Ted Davisson]

Greetings From New Orleans ,
Tonight I am on a south bound chemical tanker out of the Petro United terminal , located in St. Gabriel , La., and the Coast Guard , Vessel Traffic System is reporting today that the New Orleans , Carrollton River Gage is presently at 3 feet even . This is really not an all time low but if the river continues to fall out like it has , especially for this time of year , that
" Benchmark " will soon be reached and no telling what futher effect it may have on the ships and barge tows alike that have to navigat in it . From what I am hearing from the large towboat Captains and Pilots , the river is so narrow and restricted up river from New Orleans , that they are now having to " Flank " around and through some of the many now narrow sections of the Lower Mississippi River . As far as the ships go , we now must run slower in the (not so) deep water crossings and must run especially slow now by docks and terminals that have other ships alongside due to the fact that if we pass to close and too fast the river water below these moored ships can be literally sucked out from under the ships and then causing these same ships to be pulled away from their moorings and then causiung extensive damage and or pollution . In my mind the only good thing about extreme Low Water is the fact that if gives you a better idea or perspective of the contour of the river bottom and how far the sand bars protude out into the channel . Just anoher day at the office .
Ted Davisson