Low water levels on the Ohio River may delay barge shipments

Low water levels on the Ohio River may delay barge shipments

Washington (Platts)--20Sep2006

The wicket dam at Lock 52 on the Ohio River was expected to be raised Tuesday
afternoon as the water level on the river dropped.

The action will force tows through the lock and dam system until the water
level rises again. In late August, the water level was down and barge traffic
was forced to use the lock and dam system to navigate the river in certain
areas.

By Tuesday evening, 12 locks on the river had tows waiting to get through.
Delays ranged from less than an hour to more than four hours.

But last week, the area was "lucky" in that it had rain, said Carol
Labashosky, spokeswoman for the Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District.
The extra volume of water allowed tows to go through the navigable pass and
over the lowered wicket dam, clearing out the tows that were waiting.

Water from nearby lakes was fed into the river system also. In late summer,
tows backed up for several days waiting to get through the locks at milepost
939.

As of September 15, more than 50 tows that had been waiting cleared the
navigable pass, Labashosky said.

Meanwhile, repairs continue on the auxiliary chamber, with an expected
completion date of September 23, she said.

The repairs to the main chamber will begin September 26 and continue through
November 11. The main chamber will open for seven days and then close for
seven days during the repairs period, Labashosky said. But the auxiliary
chamber will be open during that construction.

On the Ohio River, lock and dam 52 is one of the most important links in river
traffic because it is near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Labashosky
said. About 97 million short tons/year of cargo were transported through lock
52 last year. For the Ohio River barges, some 60% of the traffic is coal (CO
8/28).

The costs created by delayed tows cannot be passed through in long-term
contracts, Norb Whitlock, executive vice president for government affairs for
American Commercial Lines, said earlier. Barge companies have to absorb the
additional costs, and he estimated that with a 15-barge tow waiting, the lost
opportunity cost is about $500/hour.

For some customers, barge companies try to pre-ship their cargo before the
chambers are closed for work, and occasionally, barge companies may swap
places in line if a customer needs the cargo quickly, he said.

At the McAlpine Lock, also on the Ohio, in mid-afternoon Tuesday, one tow was
going through the chamber while eight were waiting their turns. The number
dropped to five tows by the end of the day. McAlpine is also undergoing
repairs (PCT 8/24).

On the Tennessee River, the Corps reported a 16-hour wait for tows going
through the Wilson Lock and about a seven-hour wait at the Kentucky Lock.

The Wilson lock had been damaged when a barge inside the main lock bumped the
gate in early August. Repairs are expected to be completed in October.

No other significant delays were reported on the eastern water system.

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