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The Daily Review/Bill Decker
A photo of a section of the Golden Ray being transported on the Bayou Chene is projected on the screen at the Emergency Operations Center on Monday. Shown are Port of Morgan City Director Raymond "Mac" Wade, left, and board President Joseph Cain.

Port board gets a look at Golden Ray's transit

The Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District board heard Monday that the number of shipping transits was down last month. But at least one of the transits through local waterways was huge, and more are coming.
At its regular monthly meeting, the board looked at the big video screen at the Emergency Operations Center to see pictures of a portion of the Golden Ray floating through the Bayou Chene on a barge.
The 656-foot Golden Ray capsized at the Port of Brunswick, Georgia, in 2019 with more than 4,000 autos aboard. After a series of delays, including a fire on the capsized vessel, COVID-19 and the threat of hurricanes, the ship’s stern moved through waterways here Dec. 30 on its way to Modern American Recycling Services Inc. in Gibson to be scrapped.
Extra caution was called for as the Julia B, the barge carrying the Golden Ray section, moved through the Bayou Chene Flood Control structure with a Coast Guard escort.
At Monday’s meeting, Coast Guard Lt. Hayley Gipson said the barge passed through the structure safely.
Port of Morgan City Executive Director Raymond “Mac” Wade said three more pieces of the Golden Ray are headed to the area.
Gipson also reported an average of 63 vessels a day made transit in December, down about 14%.
Monday’s 5 p.m. board meeting was a short one so members could attend former member Lee Dragna’s swearing in as Morgan City mayor at 6 p.m. at nearby Morgan City Municipal Auditorium. Dragna, who was serving as the board’s vice president, submitted his resignation from the port board on Sunday.
The board also:
—Heard that the Coast Guard is planning a February high-water meeting for local officials. They’ll discuss preparations for the elevated water levels anticipated for the winter-spring season.
The Atchafalaya at Morgan City was at 2.97 feet Tuesday morning, about 3 feet below the level that causes minor flooding between the flood walls in Morgan City and Berwick.
The current prediction says the river could rise to 5.8 feet in the next 10-15 days, Wade said. The rise is due not to the Mississippi River, which is usually the case, but because of rising levels in the Red River after rain in Texas and Oklahoma.
—Heard that $4.53 million in operation and maintenance funding for the Atchafalaya was included in federal legislation passed last month.
Congress could decide how to divide another $580 million in supplemental funding, said Charles Brittingham, who represents the port’s interests in Washington. But Brittingham said it’s not clear when Congress will take up that issue.
—Heard Wade say Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. will begin dredging between Crewboat Cut and Eugene Island in February or March.
Great Lakes has a $16 million contract through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the work, which is expected to last into the summer.
—Heard that the Brice Civil Constructors dredge, specifically designed to deal with troublesome fluff mud, is still at work in the bar channel between Eugene Island and the sea buoy.
The dredge is subject to occasional mechanical problems, but Jon McVay of Brice said it is dredging about 5 million cubic yards of material per month.
—Heard from Treasurer Deborah Garber that the board has received its seasonal payment of about $980,000 in property taxes from 2020. Taxes were due to be paid by Dec. 31.
—Elected its slate of officers. Joseph Cain will remain the president, Garber will continue to serve as treasurer, and Tim Matthews Sr. will stay on as secretary until his replacement is appointed to the board. The board elected Pete Orlando to succeed Dragna as vice president.

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