Greater New Orleans Port Safety Council Hosts Annual Marine Industry Day

Each year, the Harbor Safety Committee of the Greater New Orleans Port Safety Council hosts the Marine Industry Day, which aims to bring together a wide range of Lower Mississippi River stakeholders for a day of collaboration, networking and team building.

This year’s Marine Industry Day, held May 10 at the Four Seasons Hotel in New Orleans, touched on a wide range of issues, from high water and low water operations and trade outlook to the implementation of sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) reporting standards and emerging technologies.

Capt. Kelly Denning, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, underscored the communication and collaboration between government agencies and private industry that allowed commerce to move on the Mississippi River during extreme low-water seasons in 2022 and 2023.

“Some of those major lessons learned were from a regulatory standpoint, others from an operational standpoint,” Denning said of 2022. “But we certainly witnessed the industry’s commitment to safety and ingenuity during low-water navigation.”

The Coast Guard applied those lessons learned to 2023, Denning said, with some success.

“On the good side, we had many fewer disturbances this year and many fewer issues than we had in 2022, which is again a testament to our industry’s diligence and ability to overcome any and all challenges,” she said.

Lt. Col. Nate Weander, deputy commander of the New Orleans Engineer District, then offered a detailed overview of the district’s response to the low water and saltwater intrusion that occurred on the Mississippi River in 2023. Weander explained that a flow rate of about 300,000 cubic feet per second is required to keep salt water flushed out of the river, due in part to the riverbed as far as Natchez, Miss., being below sea level.

“The only thing keeping the Gulf of Mexico back is the power of the Mississippi River pushing down every day,” Weander said. “That’s what keeps it out. When we get extremely low water years, extreme drought, we don’t have the volume, the cubic feet per second required to push the Gulf of Mexico back, and salt water starts moving upstream, which is exactly what we’ve seen.”

Last summer, the Corps had to build a sill across the river near Mile 65 to keep the salt water from moving upriver and threatening municipal water in upper Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans. It was the first time the Corps has had to build the sill in back-to-back years.

The New Orleans District also barged 150 million gallons of fresh water to water plants in lower Plaquemines Parish, deployed reverse osmosis systems and streamlined permitting for communities interested in piping water from farther upstream.

Weander also offered a brief overview of the Corps’ Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Management Study. The Corps hopes to file a chief’s report by 2027, Weander said.

Cybersecurity Panel

A cybersecurity panel, which featured representatives from the Coast Guard’s Eighth District, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Louisiana State Police’s cyber unit, discussed the risks associated with cyber crimes and the resources available to companies to prevent and mitigate cyber attacks. The annual cost of cyber fraud, according to the panel, stands at about $12.5 billion.

“You are only as strong as your weakest link,” said Danielle Metoyer with the Louisiana State Police. “That being said, this is an extremely lucrative business.”

Panelists emphasized the services and law enforcement powers that both CISA and organizations like the Louisiana State Police offer to businesses.

Phil Schifflin, director of the Seamen’s Church Institute’s Center for Mariner Advocacy, moderated a panel discussion of the Coast Guard’s SASH reporting requirements, including the agency’s suspension and revocation powers with regard to mariner credentials.

Jason Neubauer, representing the Coast Guard’s Office of Investigations & Analysis, said the agency’s enforcement approach to SASH allegations is about more than conduct.

“It is a safety issue, and it affects everything on the boat from bridge resource management to communications, and that’s why we’re putting it under safety management systems,” Neubauer said.

Discussion throughout the panel focused on requirements for reporting accusations immediately to the Coast Guard, the process for investigating accusations on the part of both the Coast Guard and the reporting company and the approach the Coast Guard will take for suspending and revoking a mariner’s credentials. According to Neubauer, a felony sexual misconduct conviction is grounds for denying a merchant mariner credential. The Coast Guard will also look at the preponderance of evidence in non-criminal investigations when considering revoking or suspending a mariner’s license.

According to Neubauer, there are 408 active SASH investigations underway across all industries, including brown water, blue water, passenger vessels, etc. Thus far, the Coast Guard has declined to release how those investigations break down according to industry, Neubauer said.

Afternoon sessions focused on the future, with presentations on Maritime Partners’ Hydrogen One vessel and a green ammonia project planned for the Lower Mississippi River, along with a discussion of the trade outlook and the campaign for greater port coordination on the river.