Snake River News

"The Columbia River and its tributaries, wetlands, and estuaries are the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, providing abundant water, power, recreation, agriculture, transportation and natural resources that have supported livelihoods, cultural and spiritual practices, commerce and economic growth.” - President Biden, Memorandum of September 27, 2023.Those abundant benefits directly impact about 13 million people in the Pacific Northwest. Hydropower extends that plentitude to millions more, powering cities and industry from Idaho to California.

The inland waterways report in September 2022 edition of Marine News focused on issues facing the Lower Snake River Dams (LSRD) in the northwest, in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Walla Walla District.That report referenced issues and concerns confronting regional towboat and barge operators about possible changes to the Columbia Snake River System – perhaps even breaching the four Lower Snake River dams, a move with irreversible consequences.In August, a report by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was completed and the report’s recommendations were published.

It’s amazing to consider that a commercial vessel in the Pacific Ocean, approaching the mouth of the Columbia River, can continue its eastward journey to finally tie up at the Port of Lewiston, in Lewiston, Idaho, America’s most inland West Coast port, 465 miles from the Pacific Ocean.The Columbia and Snake Rivers form that critical east-west waterway, an economic powerhouse regionally, nationally and internationally. According to the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA)…

The inland waterways have enjoyed several positive developments toward modernization of the system, particularly over the last two years.Annual appropriations that fund the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works mission have been steadily on the rise for the last nine fiscal years, specifically the Construction and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) accounts have been funded at historic levels. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021 provided a…

Federal water managers are changing release and storage schedules at several Pacific Northwest dams because of a late season and strong atmospheric river that began June 9. Significant amounts of rainfall have fallen across the Columbia River Basin filling reservoirs and rivers.To assist in managing river stages at Vancouver, Wash., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division, is increasing storage behind the John Day Dam in Eastern Oregon. Where most dams on the Columbia and lower Snake rivers are “run of river” projects…

Will Roberts joined Seattle-based Foss Maritime in 2017 as chief commercial officer, and in 2018 he was named chief operating officer. Prior to joining Foss, Roberts held a number of leadership roles for marine systems and services provider Rolls-Royce, rising to senior vice president, customer and services–Americas. A U.S. Navy veteran, Roberts served as a qualified deck and engineering officer aboard the fast attack submarine USS Honolulu. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in ocean engineering and holds a Master of Engineering Management from Old Dominion University.

Tidewater Transportation and Terminals said it recently added Aaron Degodny as its new Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer. As part of Tidewater’s executive leadership team, Degodny will focus on establishing strategic partnerships in new markets, expanding and strengthening client relationships, and extending the regional and global footprint of Tidewater, the largest barge transportation and terminal network on the Columbia-Snake River system. He will have direct oversight and responsibility for business development, sales and marketing, public relations and media.

Vancouver, Wash. based Tidewater Transportation and Terminals announced it will expand its service on the Columbia Snake River System.The Pacific Northwest focused inland marine transportation company has been awarded a $3.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) to aid in the expansion of its barge service from the Port of Morrow in Boardman, Ore. to Vancouver, Wash.The expansion will include the procurement of a new barge capable…

In Washington state, Tidewater Transportation and Terminals inaugurated a $12.5 million ethanol unloading and storage site in Pasco to serve the Columbia and Snake River regions.On Tuesday, August 27, more than 60 area notables, members of the business community, and terminal personnel gathered mid-afternoon for a ribbon cutting ceremony and celebration of the company’s state-of-the-art, onsite ethanol unloading and storage facility in Pasco.The facility consists of a 24-hour ethanol unit train railcar unloading rack with 24 new unloading stations and associated rail spurs. In addition, two 65,000-barrel steel tanks were built in order to provide reliable operating storage when an ethanol unit train arrives.

Portland, Oregon-based Vanport Marine, Inc. has been awarded the contract to perform the Dockside Repair of the USCGC Bluebell. The scope of the contract includes upgrades to the Allied buoy and cargo crane, deck preservation, repairs to the weather tight doors, renewal of the sewage shore tie valve, and repair of the remote fuel cutoff valve and deck box. The work will be completed at the vessel’s home pier at 676 N. Basin Ave, Portland, OR. The performance period will begin on June 12, 2018 and end July 18, 2018. The cutter Bluebell is an inland buoy tender built by the Birchfield Boiler Co. in Tacoma, Wash., and was commissioned April 4, 1945.

Tidewater Transportation and Terminals of Vancouver, Wash., announced today that the Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance and the Coast Guard Sector Columbia River has issued a Certificate of Inspection (COI) to the towing vessel Crown Point for compliance under the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) Subchapter M safety regulations governing the inspection, standards and safety management systems of towing vessels.This COI is the first issued to a west coast (PACAREA) tugboat/towboat operator.The Crown Point is the first of three custom-built river towboats built for Tidewater in 2015.

A local barge company has been fined $18,000 for spilling 40,000 gallons of liquid urea ammonium nitrate into the Snake and Columbia rivers. Urea ammonium nitrate is a common fertilizer that is corrosive to steel. An investigation by the Washington Department of Ecology found that two steel tank barges owned and operated by Tidewater Barge Lines, Inc. were not properly maintained, causing the liquid fertilizer to spill into the rivers during three separate incidents in April 2017. The first spill occurred between April 11 and 21 during transfer and storing operations at the Tidewater Snake River Terminal in Pasco. Investigators determined that 16,639 gallons of urea ammonium nitrate were released by Barge No. 78 due to corrosion of the storage tank.

Marine News looks back at the past 12 months and showcases the best of North America’s workboat design shop and shipyard output. In a year where some stakeholders might not rank 2016 as the best of years in the shipyard or on the waterfront, we might disagree. And, there is plenty to write about. New contracts, deliveries and designs all combine to show that the collective workboat waterfront is moving forward, with technology, the environment and replacement tonnage requirements as the main drivers.

Ellicott Dredge Technologies (EDT) informed that the City of Boise, Idaho chose it to design a Mud Cat 40E Custom (MC-40EC) dredge for the city's innovative Dixie Drain Phosphorous Offset Project. Boise will use the MC-40EC dredge to remove phosphorous from the Boise Watershed. Boise selected the MC-40EC due to Mud Cat’s global reputation for quality and their proven ability to deliver custom features. The custom features include the overall length of the dredge, the slurry pump flow and pressure, a fully protected auger system, and an auger calibrated to specific digging depths for the project. In addition to its custom features, the MC-40EC boasts several other unique systems.

Nearly 85 years ago, Tidewater pioneered commercial transportation on the upper Columbia Snake River system and opened up one of the nation’s most isolated regions to global markets. Today, Tidewater Holdings is comprised of Tidewater Barge Lines, Tidewater Terminal Company, and since 2014, Tidewater Environmental Services, Incorporated. Tidewater Terminal Company works in conjunction with its Barge Lines, using key intermodal connections to railroads, highways and pipelines.

The two newest inland river towboats in Tidewater Transportation and Terminals’ fleet, Granite Point and Ryan Point, were christened during a late afternoon ceremony Saturday, June 11 at Vancouver Landing in Vancouver, Wash. After Deacon Tim Dooley from Portland’s Holy Family Parish delivered a blessing, Patty Reed, wife of Bruce Reed, Tidewater’s Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, and Diane Laya, wife of Marc Schwartz, Tidewater’s Maintenance and Engineering Manager…

Taking the Furuno 15X8 series radar out for a spin; Furuno’s newest entry has found a welcome place on inland waters. Furuno’s newest radar is now on the market. The first workboat installation of the company’s FAR-15X8 series was completed in late February and early March. Following installation, test runs were carried out on the Bruce M, a 65-foot, 1,900 Hp inland pushboat operated by SDS Lumber based out of Bingen, Wash. The vessel works the Columbia Snake River system, mainly pushing either construction or wood chip barges.

Foss Maritime Company recently announced it will open a consolidated customer service center in Oregon in April 2016. The company's existing Portland office will be renovated and modernized to incorporate the best available customer service technologies, including a state-of-the-art telephony system, heightened cyber security, and enhanced dispatching and vessel tracking capabilities. "Consolidating customer service in our Columbia Snake River location will allow us to enhance both our service and our responsiveness," said Chris Wolf, Director of Customer Service at Foss. Today, Foss serves regional, national and international customers in ports along the Pacific seaboard, Hawaii and Alaska, as well as across the globe, with a service center in Washington and Oregon, and two in California.

Tidewater Transportation and Terminals today marked delivery of the second of a series of three towboats, the Granite Point. The vessel, built by Portland’s Vigor, follows towboat Crown Point, which began operations along the Columbia Snake River (CSR) in May 2015. Like the Crown Point, the Granite Point is a custom-built, environmentally-friendly towboat that was specifically designed by CT Marine, Naval Architects and Marine Engineers of Edgecomb, Maine, to serve Tidewater’s customers.

Container barge service is back on the upper Columbia and Snake rivers.The Up river Container Barge-Rail Shuttle will help importers and exporters in eastern Washington, Oregon and Idaho move containerized agricultural products to markets in Asia. An informal partnership including Northwest Container Service, Tidewater Barge and the ports of Morrow, Lewiston and Portland helped facilitate the return of this service. The first barge is currently loading at the Port of Lewiston this week and expected to get underway Thursday. The new service would address key issues driving up the cost of transportation in the wake of losing direct carrier service at Terminal 6 in Portland earlier this year— loss of barge service, container availability and cost of trucking to Puget Sound ports.

Tidewater Transportation and Terminals, headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, has taken delivery of Crown Point, a new custom-built towboat commissioned at Portland’s Vigor Industrial. Crown Point is the first of a series of three towboats being built at Vigor for Tidewater, and will join the company’s current fleet of 16 vessels and 160 barges. Marc Schwartz, Maintenance & Engineering Manager at Tidewater, expressed, “The launching of the Crown Point, and the forthcoming Granite Point and Ryan Point vessels, marks an important step for Tidewater.

Vigor Industrial has ballooned from a modest shipyard in Portland, Oregon, to the largest shipbuilder in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Vigor increasingly thinks big and builds big. The company’s new floating dry dock will be the largest in the United States. And Vigor wants to get even bigger. CEO and owner Frank Foti expresses an ambition to grow to twice the current size in the “next few years.” Foti, who is also chairman of the Shipbuilder’s Council of America, says he is, “striving for critical mass.

The Columbia/Snake River System defines shortsea shipping, and promises much, much more. Lewiston, Idaho, is perhaps best known to tourists as the turnaround for a Columbia River cruise or the jumping-off point for a trip to Hell’s Canyon, North America’s deepest gorge. For anyone transporting cargo, however, it’s known as the port farthest inland of any on the West Coast – a whopping 465 miles inland from the mouth of the Columbia River. Located close to the border between Washington and Oregon…