Market Matters Blog

Grain Shipping Season Begins in Duluth-Superior

Mary Kennedy
By  Mary Kennedy , DTN Basis Analyst
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The KOM is the first saltie to reach the Twin Ports of Duluth/Superior and with her arrival, the 2015 grain shipping began.

OMAHA (DTN) -- As of mid-April, high water conditions on the Ohio River and Lower Mississippi River (LMR) continue to affect navigation conditions, reducing tow sizes and delaying transit times.

Thomas Russell from Russell Marine Group, a New Orleans-based freight logistics company, told DTN via email, "Another round of rolling thunderstorms in the Ohio River Valley has caused the river to remain in high-water situation with some localized flooding. Conditions are improving and the Ohio River is on slow fall. Barge traffic is moving but slow in areas due to high water."

Russell told DTN that in the LMR, from Cairo to Memphis, water levels are high but "not flooding as water off the Ohio River flushes through the system. Some safety areas are set up, but barge traffic is moving."

Russell said that the weather in New Orleans and the Deep South in general has been wet. "Grain terminals have lost eight to nine days due to weather causing back up at most terminals," he said.

The real problem is in the Port Harbor-Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Russell told DTN that the water in the port, like the entire LMR, remains at high levels as water off the Ohio River pushes through. "Safety zones are set up, which has slowed the shifting of barges and barge fleet activities. Some loading terminals are restricted to daylight-only docking and undocking operations until water levels drop below 12 feet in the harbor," Russell said.

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A number of ships have recently gone aground at the Southwest Pass (SWP), likely caused by the high water carrying a lot of sand and silt and apparently has caused river bottom shoaling. Russell said that this is the only pass that pilots can bring ocean vessels in and out of the river. The SWP is a 20-mile-long pass that connects the Mississippi River with the Gulf of Mexico. "The SWP is the river delta where sand and silt carried into the river tends to deposit," Russell said. "Dredges have been working on any trouble areas that pop up."

Russell said, "Accumulation of sand/silt tends to build shoals on the river bottom in unexpected locations in the Pass. SWP is not deep enough like other parts of the Nola-Baton Rouge Harbors to absorb with extra sand/silt build up. As the river rises, the bottom follows and the result can be vessel groundings."

Southwest Pass must be dredged on an ongoing basis in order to maintain a deep draft of 47 feet for the bigger ocean vessels. "Most of the ocean vessels carrying grain to the biggest grain market, Asia, need deep drafts," added Russell.

After another vessel went aground in the SWP early last week, the pilots felt there was enough uncertainty about shoals building up and temporarily reduced the deep draft from 47 to 40 feet midweek until new soundings could map the depth of the river bottom. Russell said, "Vessels drafting over 40 feet were not allowed to transit the SWP until soundings (the act of measuring depth) were completed, so they can pinpoint areas of concern for the Corps to concentrate on dredging."

On April 20, Russell said that the soundings had been completed, and due to excess shoaling in an area near the head of SWP, the pilots have imposed a maximum draft of 42 feet for all vessels until dredges can clear the area. Any ship over 35-foot draft can only transit one way during this time.

KOM OFFICIALLY OPENS 2015 GRAIN SHIPPING SEASON IN TWIN PORTS

On Monday, April 14, the Port of Duluth-Superior welcomed Kom, the first "saltie" to have made full transit of the 2,342-mile Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway. According to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, "Kom is a 465-foot bulk carrier that flies the flag of Malta and was built in 1997. It began its current voyage in A Coruna, Spain. The Kom will load 12,100 metric tons of durum wheat and then depart for Italy, where the wheat will be milled into flour for pasta-making," the Port Authority reported.

The latest arrival on record of the port's first saltie was just last year, as the Diana arrived on May 7, 2014, due to harsh ice conditions that covered the entire Great Lakes. Ironically, the earliest on record happened just one year earlier when the Federal Hunter sailed into port on March 30, 2013.

"The arrival of the first saltie each year is a tangible reminder for residents and tourists alike that the Port of Duluth-Superior is an international seaport," said Vanta Coda, Port Authority executive director. "Situated over 2,300 miles inland, it anchors the westernmost edge of this nation's fourth seacoast -- the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway -- which links the heartland of North America to markets in Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa. This bi-national waterway enables farmers from the Upper Midwest -- as well as shippers of project cargo, iron ore and coal -- to compete in the global marketplace."

Mary Kennedy can be reached at mary.kennedy@dtn.com

Follow Mary Kennedy on Twitter @MaryCKenn

(AG/BAS)

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