Barge moorings should stay

Pro


There are many reasons to support the barge docking facility on the San Jose Island side of Lydia Ann Channel.

The first is enhanced safety. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) barges are each about 200 feet long. Tows often consist of three barges, end to end, plus the towboat pushing them. That means that the total length is over 600 feet, the size of a ship. They operate in narrow canals and across shallow bays, where they must stay in the channel.

When winds are high, they can’t safely cross the bays, especially when the barges are empty and floating high in the water, creating too much windage. They must either “nose up” against the bank in a land cut and hold position with their engines running, or preferably, tie up to bollards placed along the sides of land cuts near bays.

It is much safer for the tow to be secured to dolphins (bollards) than to hold position against the bank with engine power. It is also better for the environment because they are not running the engines, not digging into the bank with the barges or washing sediment with the propellers. There are similar docking bollards in the south end of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge just north of Aransas Bay, with no problems for over 30 years.

With the recent expansion of oil production in the nearby Eagle Ford formation of Texas, ship and barge traffic into the Port of Corpus Christi has greatly increased. Up to two dozen barge tows must wait in the GIWW until there is a berth available for them in the port. If a strong squall occurs while a dozen or more loose tows are pushed against the bank, some could lose control with the real possibility of crashing into other tows. It is far safer for them to be secured to the bollards along the channel. Additionally, there is a tug and crew permanently on site to help secure the tows to the bollards.

The docking site in Lydia Ann Channel is, by far, the best location in the area because the channel is quite wide at that location and both north and south-bound traffic can easily pass.

Some are under the misconception that the secured barges are bad for fishing. Some local fishing guides maintain that the fishing is better because fish like to hang out in the shadows of the barges and no damage is being done to the shoreline.

I am a coastal geologist who has studied this coast for 50 years. Waves, beaches, channel currents, inlets and harbors have been my life-long specialties. I have also lived on boats, been a captain of offshore oilfield vessels, and have over 100,000 miles at sea as a captain on yachts, and long-range commercial fishing vessel deliveries. I have been a professional compass adjustor in the wheelhouses of over 1,000 vessels, from small boats to naval ships. The best boat handlers that I have ever seen are inland tugboat captains and offshore oilfield captains.

It is a mistake for environmentalists with little knowledge of maritime industries to call for the removal of this important docking facility. In fact, its removal could lead to an environmental disaster when numerous barge tows are unsecured against the bank during bad weather while awaiting a berth at the port.

This facility was built at no expense to the government nor the taxpayer, and it greatly increases maritime safety and reduces environmental damage. Please urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reinstate the permit previously granted, and give these expert captains continued use of the docking facility in Lydia Ann Channel for their safety and for the protection of the local marine environment.

Richard Watson is a Port Aransas resident and coastal geologist.



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