Page 6. MAINE COASTAL NEWS January 2014 Port Safety Forum
The Port Safety Forum met at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland on 10 December. During the two hour meeting they discussed a number of topics: mainly the Quest Ferry running between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia; dredging proj- ects and ice breaking. Ed O’Donnell of the Army Corp of Engineers updated the attendees on projects underway or proposed in the State of Maine and New Hampshire. Currently the projects consist of 62 channels and anchorages, 35 breakwaters/jetties and one beach erosion. The maintenance projects include: Portland Harbor; Wells Harbor; Scarborough River; Pig Gut at Beals Island; Royal River; Saco River; Biddeford Pool and York Harbor. There have also been several entities re- questing dredging and they were: Cape
Publisher's Note Continued from Page 4.
more information that disappears. In the last Publisher’s Note I voiced a negative opinion on a number of books written today as poorly researched. The reason is that if you want to write a book it does not happen overnight and that means it is hard to justify the time spent and the money made. Depending on the subject it can take years to compile the information needed. All too often today’s authors spend a couple of months doing the research and then compile a substandard book. What is worse, they think they are now the authority on the subject. Publishers do not care if the information is accurate or complete so long as it sells and so the unknowing public stays unknowing. There is a downside to doing too much research and that is if the pen never hits the paper and the book remains unwritten. Today a research book may best be made available on the Internet and that way it can remain a work in progress. In my case I am fortunate and can pass on the more exciting maritime events in the history section of this paper and can only hope it gets more people interested in maritime history.
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Porpoise Harbor; Pepperell Cove, Kittery; Josias River, Ogunquit; and Stonington Har- bor. For improvement projects: Searsport Harbor; Portsmouth Harbor, Blue Hill Har- bor, Camp Ellis, Saco; and Great Chebeague Island. A lot of this work is being attributed to Hurricane Sandy.
The Portland dredging project is being done by Cashman Construction and will be- gin mid-January. Presently they are working at Norwalk and then to New Haven before coming to Portland. The project is divided into seven sections and will start in the Main Ship Channel by Merrill’s Turning Basin and go out to Bug Light. Approximately 700,000 cubic yards of sediment and 1,500 cubic yards of rock will be removed. Cash- man has been using a 70 cubic yard bucket, but this has developed problems due to its size and they were making it slightly smaller. All the dredge material will be going to the Portland dredge site, which is eight to ten miles offshore. This project is to be com- pleted in two months.
Before this project can start the lobsters will be relocated beginning the middle of December. One lobster man with 300 traps will be used. He will also documented as to how much he catches, where and the by- catch. Before they can begin dredging there must be less than .5 lobsters per trap. The cost of the relocation is $90,000, which was raised locally by the cities and the Maine Port Authority.
It was also mentioned that eight buoys in the harbor will be moved. They will move them all at once and than back again when the project is completed.
John Henshaw of the Maine Port Au- thority updated the group on the Searsport dredging project. He stated that the New England District released the draft Searsport Harbor, Searsport, ME Feasibility Report and Environmental Assessment for agency and public comment as required by the Na- tional Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on April 5, 2013. The public notice comment period closed on May 6, 2013. Comments were received from agencies, communities,
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stakeholders and the public. Comments are being reviewed by the District and will be addressed, as appropriate, in the fi nal Feasi- bility Report (FR) and fi nal Environmental Assessment (EA). The District is preparing the application to the State for Water Quality Certifi cation and Coastal Zone Management Consistency Concurrence, which is sched- uled to be submitted to the Maine Depart- ment of Environmental Protection and the Maine Coastal Program in December. These state approvals are required to submit the fi nal FR/NEPA documentation and the draft Chief of Engineers report to the Corps Civil Works Review Board (CWRB) for approval. The CWRB is scheduled for June of 2014. If the NEPA process results in a Finding of No Signifi cant Impact, CWRB action will clear the draft Chief’s report for State and Agency Review (by Federal departments and State’s Governor) this summer, and a fi nal Chief’s report would be signed in December 2014. The problem at Searsport is that the channel is less than 32 feet and some of the ships coming into Mack’s Point need more draft. One question is when this project will be funded, which could be FY2016. The Wells dredging is going along well. This project is being done by Southwind Construction who is using a 10-inch dredge with a cutter head and two miles of pipe line. They are pumping the sediment up on Drakes Island to a settling area before moving it.
Quest Ferry representative Mark Amundsen, gave an update on the new ferry service between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The new boat NOVA STAR is under construction in Singapore undergoing fi nal detailing. Some of the modifi cations include a casino and conference rooms. She is scheduled to be here mid-spring with service starting 1 May. There are still some challenges, but they are confi dent that they will be running on time.
There was a brief discussion about a
barge grounding off Portsmouth, NH on 5 November. The tug involved was the MEDITERRANEAN SEA towing the barge DBL-84 with 80,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
While transitioning from tow to notch the barge grounded on the shoal. She was then taken up to the Irving dock and notifi ed the Coast Guard. After an examination it was found she had no breeches to her hull and it was deemed she could safely travel to New York where repairs could be made. Icebreaking will be done with the three 65-foot Coast Guard vessels SHACKLE, TACKLE and BRIDLE. These are very ma- neuverable boats and can break ice up to 12 inches thick. The 140-foot THUNDERBAY will also be used. She can break ice up to 27 inches thick. The main concern are the rivers with fl ood risk, mainly the Penobscot and Kennebec. The Penobscot will be broken up to the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge con- sistently. The Kennebec will be allowed to freeze and they will begin breaking the ice up in the spring when the weather starts to warm up. The only concern on the river is BIW and that has remained open so far this winter. Also the new bridge being built in Richmond will allow the 140-footer to go further up the river when it is completed. There will also be times when the Coast Guard will be called in to break up a harbor or a waterfront facility. Requests may be made 24 hours a day by contacting the Coast Guard Command Center at (207) 767-0303. The Coast Guard discussed Safety Alerts that have or are about to be released. One deals with Commercial Fishing Vessel Stability, mostly tied to the use of an A-frame while dragging. Another discusses the issues of cyber security and there is information within the MSIB to inform people who to prevent attacks.
Capt. Gelinas discussed a problem with high intensity forward facing fl ood lights on commercial fi shing vessels while he is bringing ships up and down Western Penobscot Bay. He also asked that berth surveys be done on a regular basis and says that current data in the Coast Pilot is not accurate. Both items were asked to be put on the next meeting’s agenda.
The meeting then concluded and the next meeting at Bangor Savings Bank in Augusta on 12 March.
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