The Waterways Journal

The U.S. coal industry is fast adapting to being a full-time major exporter.

“The country’s reduced coal use was supposed to be gradual, but cheap natural gas and a warm winter this year have given the coal industry a preview of things to come and forced it to adapt quickly….

Competition is emerging among ports and transportation providers, and increased competition and flexibility, to which U.S. coal markets are currently unaccustomed, may become permanent features if the market sticks to its current trend.”

How federally-funded crop insurance works.

Just days ago, Great Britain transferred management of its waterways and canals–overwhelmingly used for recreation rather than commerce, although there are periodic attempts to revive waterborne commerce–to a new charitable trust that is considered a “quasi-nongovernmental-organization,” or “quango,” in British parlance. Not everyone is happy about that.

The Corps’ Russell Errett discusses the Mississippi River’s level at St. Louis.

Officials in Natchez,  Miss., are warning the public not to stray onto exposed sandbars on the bottom of the drought-lowered Mississippi River.

Despite low water on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, the Illinois River is only down about a foot and a half, and is maintaining the 9-foot navigation channel.

It’s not a pretty picture.

From the news source Credit Writedowns, a thorough breakdown of the infrastructure reasons for the current focus on the Cushing-to-Gulf section of the Keystone XL pipeline.

An overview of the Morrow Pacific coal export project on the West Coast.

“It requires building 20 new barges and about five new tugs: None of the other coal export projects proposed for the Northwest plans to put coal on barges, so this is a unique element of the Morrow Pacific project. But there aren’t enough tugs and barges operating on the river today to handle all the coal that the company wants to ship.”

The Corps of Engineers reported on July 13 that an intensive search in waters south Lake Michigan has turned up no Asian carp.