NATCHEZ IX oil spill update Tues. 7/29

[Judy Patsch]

Word from Capt. Don Houghton is that the NATCHEZ is still laid up, awaiting a hull cleaning. She will also have to move from the Toulouse St. wharf temporarily so that can be cleaned up too. As I mentioned last week, she has been idled since the spill hit last Monday, costing her a lot of charter and convention business all last week.
News from the Times-Picayune website is that the river will be fully opened today:
River expected to reopen today - Breaking News from New Orleans - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com

[Keith Norrington]

Thanks Judy, for another up-to-the-minute report. Even when you're far from New Orleans, you have a "direct line" to "The Sternline Telegraph"! Now that business is picking up, I surely hope the Str. NATCHEZ isn't laid up for long. A whistle salute to her stalwart crew for all they have been through, but keep on plugging like the real troupers they are.

[Lexie Palmore]

Since we watch Shreveport tv stations, we have gotten some reports about the spill. Whenever they talked about the cruise ships having to shuttle passengers to Mobile, they would show the Natchez sitting at her dock. A Coast Guard rep was stating that this accident would bring about the inspection of towboats. It has been very, very costly, even though there was no loss of life, unless you count the poor critters that got caught in the oil.

[Judy Patsch]

$230,000 estimated loss of revenue for the N.

Corps halts river dredging as oil found in mud; could effect shipping - Breaking News from New Orleans - Times-Picayune - NOLA.com

Good old heavy Bunker C causing more problems...

[Bob Reynolds]

When I came up through the harbor at 1800 last night, the NATCHEZ was layed up at Toulouse St., no apparent activity on board, but I did not see a boom around the boat, either. The CREOLE QUEEN was at Robin St. with a party on board, and I heard them get underway after I had passed that location northbound.

Cleaning of hulls is still going on, but traffic is fairly normal, though very heavy. There is one-way traffic at the GNO Bridge, slow bell, no wake zone. The sunken barge with the #6 oil is still against the pier of the GNO; a Bisso salvage rig is in place and is hooked on the wrecked barge, but there is still oil in the barge, according to local news. Cleaning crews are busy, busy, busy, working daylight-only cleaning hulls, and I saw a large crew cleaning the bank near Violet, LA.

Things seem to be slowly recovering from this horrible accident.

[Hank Bloomer]

Just a dumb question: who pays for all the cleanup? Do the ship owners pay for the hull cleaning? Will the barge/towboat company responsible have be pick up any of it? Also, who was in command of the towboat, the apprentice mate?

[Bob Reynolds]

Hank, I don't know who the person was who was steering the MEL OLIVER. The boat is owned by American Commercial Lines, but was operated but a small independent company out of the N.O. area. That guy had actually had another of the boats he was operating sink the week prior, and I heard that that vessel also did not have the properly licensed crew aboard.

The barge was owned by ACL also, and they are paying for all of the clean-up. Anyone electing to use their own cleaning service is invoicing that to ACL.