Lower Mississippi River to be dredged to 50 feet. (not a river pilot thread)

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Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards and other top Louisiana officials signed a formal agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction on the deepening of the Lower Mississippi River to 50 feet from 45 feet. This project will provide deep draft access to the ports at Baton Rouge, New Orleans, South Louisiana, St. Bernard and Plaquemines.

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“When completed, this project will allow larger vessels that can currently use the widened Panama Canal to reach Louisiana ports as far north as Baton Rouge. It will also allow for some vessels to carry heavier loads

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I know pilot salaries are the hot topic of the day, but that represents a very small portion of the costs to ship goods. as ships continue to be built bigger, deepwater access is the real issue that determines the lower Mississippi's competitiveness, as a port, with other gulf coast and even east coast ports.

ever since the new Panama Canal locks were opened, there has been a race to 50 feet among gulf coast and east coast ports including the lower mississippi (Port Nola, Port of Baton Rouge, Port of South Louisiana) Houston, Mobile, etc.

For those that do not know, ships are built to maximum size to fit through the Panama and Suez canals. With the new panama canal locks opened, that has resulted in a new class of ship, Neopanamax, and now it is up to the ports to accomodate these larger vessels.


these are different sizes for tankers, but bulk carriers, general cargo, and containerships are all built in similar size categories.

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“With the signing today, we have taken one step forward toward providing a better future for countless Louisianans,” said DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson, Ph.D. “If we work together with our natural resources and put a multimodal commerce plan in place, the Mississippi River can be an economic super highway and Louisiana can be a leader in global goods movement.

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