PORT ANNOUNCES START OF FLEETING SERVICE

The Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority now has a barge fleeting service at its port, located on the Mississippi River five miles southeast of Cape Girardeau.

The announcement was made Monday during the port authority's March meeting. The fleet is operated under an agreement with Cape Girardeau Fleeting, Inc. of Cape Girardeau.

Cape Fleeting has been providing fleet service for the port for some time, but until last month, barges destined for the port have been stored in the company's fleet, located in the river in south Cape Girardeau.

Under the agreement with Cape Fleeting, the port authority will now maintain its own barge fleet inside the port's slackwater harbor. Cape Fleeting will provide tug service to move loaded or empty barges in and out of the fleet as needed. In addition, Cape Fleeting will take loaded or empty barges in and out of barge tows as they go by the port, and move the barges directly to the slackwater harbor fleet. The agreement also considers Cape Fleeting to be the fifth tenant at the port site.

"We're very excited about the fleet service," said port authority Vice Chairman Peter Kinder. "Cape Fleeting is a very reputable firm, owned by the Erlbacher family, long known up and down the inland waterway system as a part of the marine transportation industry."

Port Authority Executive Director Allen Maki said the fleeting service is a welcome addition to the port. "It will also enhance the ability of our public dock facility. We believe it will attract other industry. I think (the fleet service) is a very natural and logical development," he stated.

Maki explained a fleeting service is essential to any water-borne commerce. "A fleet is nothing more than a place to park our barges when we are not loading or unloading them at the public dock," he said. "It also indicates that we are now getting enough barge traffic down there to justify having someone down there. The fact that we moved a record amount of tonnage through the port in January indicates that business is really picking up, despite the recession, and we see continuous growth at the port."

Port Authority Chairman Morty Potashnick said the major advantage of having a fleet at the port is savings in time and money to shippers that use the port. "It will be a cost savings to potential shippers because the barges will be stored inside our harbor, which is another plus for our port authority," he said.

Cape Girardeau Fleeting is owned by Rob Erlbacher and his sister, Ann Dombrowski, who also own and operate Missouri Barge Lines and Missouri Drydock and Repair Service in Cape Girardeau.

Cape Girardeau Fleeting Manager, Capt. Leo Steger, said the company began actual fleet operations in the port's slackwater harbor in mid-February. Steger said one of the tugs from the company's Cape Girardeau fleet will switch barges at the port authority fleet. But he said a fleet tug could be stationed at harbor in the future as the port's business continues to grow.

In other business, Maki announced another new record tonnage month for the port in January. He said 13,831 tons were moved through the port in January, a 100 percent increase from the January 1991 tonnage figure.

"We're very excited about this record. It shows that we're on the right track," said Maki.

Board member Mysie Keene said negotiations are now under way with a prospective tenant that could mean another 30-50 jobs at the port. She said a meeting is scheduled Thursday with representatives of the company. Keene said the board hopes to have an announcement on what could be a sixth tenant to locate at the port at its April meeting.

Kinder told the board a 100-kilowatt generator arrived ten days ago. The generator will be used to supply power at the port. "In that sense, we are now in the energy business," said Kinder. "We think (the generator) is an important statement by the board, and may have important, precedent-setting legal consequences down the road."

Kinder said a legal action involving the port authority and Union Electric Co. is set for trial on March 20 in Benton. Union Electric is asking for a declaratory judgment as to who can legally sell electrical service at the port site.

Maki reported work on the Nash Road extension into the port is now under way. He said the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department at Sikeston is surveying the right-of-way and conducting soil tests for fill and a bridge over the Ramsey Creek Diversion.

At the same time, state and federal agencies are conducting an environmental evaluation of the proposed route of the road into the port.

"We're taking what would be a two-year process and doing it in two months," said Maki. "The state told us they hope to have the project bid this fall, with some preliminary work starting some time this fall."

Talking with reporters after the regular meeting, Maki said the Nash Road extension, like the slackwater harbor fleet, will help the port more efficiently use the river.

"Nash Road is also going to help the port use the interstate highway system in Southeast Missouri better," he said. "It gives us a direct link to the interstate. We have already had commitments from several companies that when the Nash Road extension is completed, we can see increases of several hundred thousand tons moving through the port authority.

"Nash Road is going to mean more development, more business, more jobs, and not just at the port authority, but up and down Nash Road. It will have an impact beyond just the port, including the airport."