POST-TROPICAL STORM BARRY SAFETY ADVISORY:
MORGAN CITY-PORT ALLEN ALTERNATE ROUTE
MSIB_Vol_XIX_Issue_052_Morgan_City_Port_Allen_Alternate_Route_Post_Tropical_Storm_Advisory.pdf
In accordance with MSIB Volume XIX Issue 050, the Mississippi River is open to navigation with caution advised due to the threat of shoaling, storm debris, displaced Aids to Navigation, and other hazards.
Because the Houma-Morgan City Captain of the Port Zone remains closed to navigation, vessels bound for Morgan City using the ICW Morgan City – Port Allen Alternate Route are advised to wait in the Mississippi River and delay transit through the Port Allen Lock until Morgan City is reopened.
The purpose of this delay is to avoid congestion in the canal from Port Allen to Bayou Sorrel, an area that has limited safe places for vessels to hold station, and is vulnerable to flooding if significant rainfall continues.
Vessels will be allowed to use the Port Allen and Bayou Sorrel Locks as part of their voyage to Morgan City once weather permits, the Port of Morgan City reopens, and availability of safe refuge there is verified.
The Port Allen and Bayou Sorrel Locks remain operational, but limited due to weather, for northbound transits and for access to local facilities from MM 60 to MM 65,
including the Sun Plus Canal.
If flash flooding occurs in the ICW Morgan City – Port Allen Alternate route, the following vessel limitations will be in place based on readings at the Bayou Sorrel Landside Gauge:
–5.5 ft and rising: vessels shall proceed at minimal speed with no discernable wake from MM 37.6 to MM 45.
–6.5 ft and rising: vessels are limited to one-way traffic from MM 37.6 to MM45.
–6.9 ft and rising: the waterway will be closed from Bayou Sorrel Lock to Port Allen Lock, with the exception of local facility traffic from MM 60 to MM 65, including the Sun Plus Canal, on a limited basis.
For further information, contact:
Port Allen Lock: (225)-344-8272
Bayou Sorrel Lock: (225)-659-2581
Vessel Traffic Service Lower Mississippi River: (504)-365-2230
Coast Guard Sector Command Center New Orleans (24 hours): (504) 365-2543
CAPTAIN K. M. LUTTRELL
Captain of the Port New Orleans
