Corporate Spotlight: Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply, Inc.

“A strong business, a strong neighbor, a strong resource!” can be said of Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply, Inc. (EMIS) in Vicksburg, Mississippi. EMIS personnel have often helped ensure the safety of people and recovery of commercial river vessels when navigation on the Mississippi River goes awry. EMIS helps the Port of Vicksburg’s United States Coast Guard, a maintenance operation, in human rescue, recovery, and property salvage projects.

EMIS moved to Vicksburg in 1975 from Houma, Louisiana, where its predecessor was founded in 1969, and opened a second facility at Memphis, Tennessee, in 1982. EMIS – Vicksburg employs 61 people and a fleet of seven towboats to provide mid-river fleet servicing 24 hours a day of food, fuel, equipment, supplies, crew changes, etc., to commercial vessels navigating the Mississippi River. EMIS is the only mid-stream fueler and harbor service in industry involved in strategic planning and management calls of the Lower Mississippi River.

In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security and United States Coast Guard gave EMIS their Meritorious Public Service Award, “in recognition of notable services that have assisted greatly in furthering the aims and functions of the Coast Guard,” for coordinating emergency responses and helping to recover drifting barges. In addition, EMIS Fleeting Manager Albert Smith served as a volunteer traffic coordinator for two months during the Mississippi River flooding. These efforts to manage the continued operation of river traffic, docks and commercial towing in extremely high water enabled the commitments of industry to be honored, operating at 80% traffic capacity, even when other port cities along the river had shut-down services and operations.

Mr. Smith said, “Having a long history and good working relationship with so many entities, like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard, Homeland Security, Vicksburg Emergency Response teams, city and county officials, even at times the FBI, has been priceless in the planning and effective execution of successful rescue and recovery operations. We’re hooked into 911 and are ‘First Responders’ where safety and controlled passage are concerned. It’s our job to render assistance and provide the services that keep industry operating on the river. We work as a team.” That contingency planning and history of intervention has given EMIS employees a great deal of experience and instinct in responding quickly to emergencies, minimizing damage.

A recent call from a vessel allowed EMIS to dispatch personnel and a boat to take a man off a large commercial barge to shore quickly and safely, where an ambulance had been called and was waiting, all of which saved critical time in a medical emergency. In June of this year, Mr. Smith made a presentation to the Area Maritime Security Committee, which may lead to benchmarking of similar operations in other locations. “We’ve made contingency plans for both high water and low water scenarios, which pose distinct dangers for river traffic,” he said.

Sophisticated computer systems such as AIS and VIC allow EMIS to monitor traffic, movement, and communicate with vessels on the river. Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a tracking system which supplements marine radar, providing Vehicle Traffic Services like EMIS the identification position, course, speed, destination, and other specifics of each vessel, displayed on computer screens. Vicksburg Information Center (VIC) allows EMIS to speak with boat personnel in managing their needs and services.

Notwithstanding the historic 2011 flood, with “The River” cresting on May 19 (at 57.5 feet – the highest river stage since 1927’s flood at 56.2 feet), EMIS is accustomed to emergencies on the Mississippi. This year’s flood was the worst in 84 years, 14.5 feet above manageable flood level. More on this in the next issue of FOCUS: an Ergon Perspective on Quality.

In rising waters earlier this year on March 23, fleet personnel notified the EMIS office of a likely accident strike at the Interstate-20 bridge location, when they witnessed a towboat pushing 30 loaded barges narrowly clear passage of the dangerous Delta Point curve. Their prediction did occur; and, when it happened, EMIS was present to respond immediately. The 30 barges broke apart upon impact, and a fully-loaded 195-foot long by 35-foot wide (195′ x 35′) barge hauling 41,000 bushels of soybeans sank and lodged against the I-20 bridge support. Waterway traffic restrictions were in effect for three weeks while attempts to free the lodged barge were conducted. Authorities first attempted a towboat to free the barge. This approach was called off when stability sensors on the bridge detected too much vibration of the structure. Secondly, a crane-supported chisel was used to “lift and cut” the barge apart. Heavy rains complicated the process and occasionally delayed the operation.

All in all, seven boats were required in the barge’s recovery and salvage. By the time the barge was freed and removed from the river bridge, fifty-eight vessels had been forced to stop until it was safe to pass. By that day’s end, thirty-eight of them had been cleared to resume their southbound trips.

Barge recovery and removal in situations such as this are necessary to preserve the structural integrity of bridges. The additional lateral load from a sunken vessel creates extra drag against the pier, pressure that taxes the strength of the support. In this incident, the river’s water speed elevated the weight of the barge to an equivalent of twenty-four thousand tons of pressure, compared to the normal floating weight of a fully-loaded barge: one thousand six hundred tons, with no force against it. The water pressure’s magnification of ton-weight against the bridge explains in part why two tow boats, ordinarily able to move 70 loaded barges combined, could not with 16,000 horsepower, dislodge the single sunken barge in this incident.

Tugs and tow boats which maneuver a set of barges must “line up” their trajectory to pass under the bridge, but have an exceptionally difficult time at the Delta Point turn, a tight 90° curve that is compounded by high water, which increases the river’s unpredictable cross-currents and turbulence. Removing marine wrecks, aside from being good housekeeping of bridges and good stewardship of the river, can be a challenge.

On April 19, 2008, the river crested at 51 feet, which at the time was the highest river stage in 35 years. For two months, EMIS became the staging area and vital source for pilots who needed the latest river conditions, a key information center where the United States Coast Guard (USCG), towing industry, transportation and other officials strategized in keeping marine commerce safely afloat. The USCG awarded EMIS with an “Outstanding Response and Assistance” certificate for their performance during 40 days of the springtime flooding that caused five boats with barges to run into the U.S. 80 Bridge, and still other barges to break away from their tows due to the fast-moving high water and strong currents. EMIS was key in helping regain control of these barges during the emergencies and ensure injury-free recoveries. Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said, “Ergon is without question the best corporate partner that any community could possibly have. I could tell you story after story about how Ergon has saved the day or saved somebody’s life. They’re an incredible communications link, and they also respond to emergencies.”

EMIS Vice President Danny Koestler commended the EMIS employees for their ongoing commitment, expertise and teamwork in such emergencies, saying, “Every deck hand and every boat pilot, all of the shore employees working together around the clock made this salvage operation successful. The people in harm’s way are the real champions; EMIS is just in the position of advising and supporting them in how to get control of accidents, maneuver vessels to safety with minimum damage, and how to do so without hurting anyone. But, that’s exactly where our experience and teamwork play a critical role.”