The Captain of the Port of New Orleans is issuing a Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Safety Measure for the waters of the Lower Mississippi River (LMR) listed in the table below to protect persons and vessels from the potential safety hazards associated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) revetment operations. The table outlines the transit restrictions that apply at each respective location.
The following conditions apply at all locations:
- The working hours for the Mat Sinking Unit (MSU) are from 0600-1900 daily.
- The contact pilot for the operations is the M/V William James and can reached on VHF CH. 67 or 82.
- All vessels shall transit at slowest safe speed when transiting past the MSU during working hours.
| Location | Mile Marker (MM) Right or Left Descending Bank | 2024 Scheduled Work Dates | Additional Transit Restrictions and Comments |
| Manchac | MM 214.2 LDB | January 12 – January 20 | Restrictions
Comments
|
| St. Gabriel | MM 199 LDB | January 21 – January 31 | Restrictions
Comments
|
| Avondale | MM 108 RDB | February 1 – February 16 | Restrictions
Comments
|
| Poydras | MM 84.3 LDB | February 17 – February 27 | Restrictions
Comments MSU will not fold in at night. |
| Neptune Pass | MM 23.1 LDB | February 28 – March 5 | Restrictions
Comments MSU will not fold in at night. |
| Vacherie | MM 149.4 RDB
MM 148.7 RDB |
March 6 – March 16 | Restrictions
Comments MSU will not fold in at night. |
The dates of the work and restrictions listed above are subject to change. Daily updates to the schedule and restrictions will be messaged in the Vessel Traffic Service 5-day outlook email.
All interested navigation stakeholders are highly encouraged to subscribe to the VTS 5-day outlook email here: https://public.govdeliver.com/accoutnts/USDHSCG/subscriber/new. Subscribers should enter their preferred email, then ensure “VTS LMR” and is selected under ‘Mariners Tab’ and submit.
Updates will be disseminated via additional Marine Safety Information Bulletins, VTS email distributions, and/or Safety Broadcast Notice to Mariners. For further information, contact:
Sector New Orleans Command Center (24 hour): (504) 365-2545
Vessel Traffic Service (24 hour): (504) 365-2514, VHF FM Ch. 05A, 12, 67
Sector New Orleans Waterways Management: (504) 365-2280 or secnola-wpm@uscg.mil
