Miss. River Dredging Cutbacks Result In Ship Restrictions & Threaten Exports
A coalition of businesses that rely on Mississippi River commerce warns that current budget policies on Mississippi River dredging threaten to undo efforts to make America more competitive in international trade. On the same day that the President’s State of The Union Address announced renewed efforts to increase trade in the global marketplace, restrictions went into effect on ships entering and leaving the Mississippi River. These restrictions on the busiest port system in the country directly harm the competitiveness of American businesses in some 30 states.
On January 25, 2011, the Associated Branch Pilots, representing state-licensed pilots who handle ships entering and leaving the mouth of the river, began limiting the draft of ships to no more than 44 feet of draft, down from the 45-foot channel depth authorized by Congress. These restrictions were necessary because scarce funds in the Army Corps of Engineers’ budget for maintaining the river have resulted in inadequate dredging of the river.
The Big River Coalition, an organization of more than 50 companies and associations, has been sounding the alarm that budget cuts on Mississippi River dredging would result in restrictions on ship traffic and now those warnings have come to pass. This year, the Army Corps has $63 million budgeted for the deep-draft Mississippi, even though the actual cost of maintaining the river has averaged more than $100 million for the past few years. As a result of this budget shortfall, the Corps has delayed dredging even though silting has caused the river to become steadily shallower and narrower for the past three months. The Corps has warned that dredging problems on the river could worsen unless action is taken.
The immediate effect of the restrictions will to limit the cargo that American manufacturers, farmers and producers are able to export. It has been estimated that in order to reduce the ship’s draft by just one foot, exporters will need to reduce cargo worth between $250,000 and $800,000 per ship. The fear is that these restrictions could become worse as the year progresses.
The dredging problem has serious repercussions for America:
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Neglecting the maintenance needs of the river threatens to raise the cost of transportation in a way that harms farmers, industries and shippers throughout the heartland of American. More importantly it harms America’s international competitiveness.
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The 14,000 miles of waterways connecting through the Mississippi River system carry the most cargo of any river in America and is the second most productive river transportation system in the world, behind only the Yangtze River in China.
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The Mississippi allows some 30 states to ship their goods to export markets.
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Cargo exports through the ports on the lower Mississippi are estimated to be worth more than $100 billion a year.
Coalition leaders point out that the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, which is a tax that is paid on cargo that moves through U.S. ports in order to pay for channel maintenance, already has a surplus which could be used to keep the Mississippi and other rivers dredged. According to the coalition, “Failure to properly dredge the river hurts America’s ability to compete in the world marketplace. Proper dredging of the river must be a national priority. For this reason, the coalition urges the Obama Administration to recognize the urgent need to dredge the river right now and asks Congress to recognize the need to fund the maintenance of the river at the necessary levels.”
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The Big River Coalition is an organization of more than 50 organizations and companies with offices and facilities in more than 40 states. It was formed specifically to ensure the Lower Mississippi River is properly dredged and maintained.
Pictured: Southern end of the Mississippi River, near New Orleans.