MSIB Vol XIX Issue 075 Oversized Tow requests

OVERSIZED TOW REQUESTS

The Captain of the Port (COTP) New Orleans has eliminated the requirement to provide phone notification for oversized tow permit requests for barge flotillas that can be broken down, with or without the use of a tug, that are regulated under 33 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 162.75(b)(5)(i) within the following parameters:

1. Tows of 55 feet in width or less on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between mile marker (MM) 20 West of Harvey Locks (WHL) and MM 6.2 East of Harvey Locks (EHL) (Inner Harbor Navigation Canal).

2. Tows of 78 feet in width or less on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between MM 6.2 East of Harvey Locks (EHL) (Inner Harbor Navigation Canal) and MM 33.6 EHL.

3. Tows of 108 feet in width or less if under 750 feet in length including the towboat but excluding the length of the hawser on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between MM 33.6 EHL and the Mobile Bay Ship Channel.

Oversized tows intending to transit outside of the Sector New Orleans COTP zone shall submit notification to the cognizant COTP for the intended transit. 

This relief of phone notification for oversized tows that can be broken down as described above does not relieve owners and operators of the requirements of 33 CFR 162.75(b)(1), which include reducing the size of a tow as necessary to ensure that “A clear channel shall at all times be left open to permit free and unobstructed navigation by all types of vessels and tows normally using the various waterways covered by the regulations of this section.”

Owners and operators must continue to comply with 33 CFR 162.75(b)(5)(i), which states that “…Before entering any narrow section of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, tows in excess of one-half the channel width, or 55 feet, will be required to stand by until tows which are less than one-half the channel width or 55 feet wide have cleared the channel. When passing is necessary in narrow channels, overwidth tows shall yield to the maximum.”

Oversized tows that cannot be broken down, or that may require a closure of part of a waterway, including, but not limited to: large vessels being delivered, drill rigs, large derrick barges, etc. must be submitted for COTP approval in the zone in which the tow originates. Requests must be received no less than 48 hours prior to desired movement. The evaluation of the tow permit request must meet the COTP’s full satisfaction that the proposed movement can be safety made and competently performed and that it will not place an undue risk or burden on the environment, other waterway users, or the waterway itself, prior to approval.

For further information, contact the following:

Vessel Traffic Service Lower Mississippi River (24 hours): (504) 365-2230, VHF-FM Ch. 05A, 11, or 12
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans Command Center (24 hours):  (504) 365-2543
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans Waterways Management:  (504) 365-2280

CAPTAIN K. M. LUTTRELL
 Captain of the Port New Orleans

For a current list of MSIBs in the COTP New Orleans Zone visit: https://homeport.uscg.mil/port-directory/new-orleans under “Safety Notifications”

• MSIB Vol XIX Issue 075 Oversized Tow requests.pdf