Lower Mississippi steps closer to 15m

摘要

US ports on the lower Mississippi River cannot yet accommodate Capesize and large post-Panamax vessels, but the Obama administration is taking steps to see that they can, John Gallagher reports. The US Army Corps of Engineers revealed on 13 May its plans to begin a USD3 million environmental report that will assess deepening the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Gulf of Mexico from 13.7 m to 15.2 m. While the length of the channel from Baton Rouge to the Gulf is approximately 410 km, less than one-third of that distance would actually have to be dredged - much of the river is maintained to at least 14.3 m and thus can already accommodate larger oceangoing vessels.