[Ted Davisson]

Greetings From New Orleans ( Actually Baton Rouge )
Just a few local and currrent River Pictures of an inballast ( empty ) crude oil tanker in the process of making its departure from the Exxon/Mobil refinery in Baton Rouge .
I was on another ship directly in front of the ship in the pictures and got these shots as she was turning on a " Left Helm " , off of the Exxon dock and starting her long trip down the Mississippi River to the Gulf Of Mexico .
What I find interesting in the first two pictures is the maneurviability of the modern day " Tractor Tugs " that were on this assignment . Tactor Tug is some what of a generic term , but implies a twin screw tug boat with lower unit propulsion systems , without rudders , that have the ability to rotate a full 360 degrees , to allow the tug to operate at any angle . In this picture , for example , it shows the tug boat on the bow of the ship , backing out at a true and full 90 degree angle inorder to literally pull the bow of the ship off the Exxon dock and at regardless of the velocity of the existing river current . The temperature this morning in Baton Rouge was a balmy 34 degrees . Would our good and close friends in the Norther barren and frozen tundra of this country please keep their weather to themselves !!
Smooh Sailing !
Ted Davisson
Happy New Year , To One And All !