March 25
March 25, 2009
Vernal Oliver Sr.
March 27, 2009
The Avoca Island Ferry could soon run aground, not for financial reasons, but because the U.S. Coast Guard is requiring the 41-year-old vessel to be certified to remain in service.
Commander P.A. Ropp, who heads the Marine Safety Unit in Morgan City, penned a notice in late February to St. Mary Parish President Paul Naquin Jr. stating that the ferry must obtain a Certificate of Inspection if it is to continue to operate as a passenger vessel.
The ferry totes passengers to a private island just off Morgan City’s coast.
St. Mary Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange said that the ferry will have to be dry docked within the next six months for an inspection and overhaul. That move, however, is contingent upon the parish council’s decision to keep the 41-year-old water locomotive operational.
“It’s still floating and still operating,” LaGrange said. “We are working with the Coast Guard to get options on different ways to approach the certification and inspection. As soon as we have those options, we will bring them to the parish council within the next couple of weeks.”
Should the council opt to keep the ferry operating, LaGrange said passengers can expect service to be interrupted for two to four weeks.
Although the vessel is inspected every two years, LaGrange said in his 13 years with the parish, he can’t recall the last time the craft was put in dry dock.
“I would imagine folks would have to find their own means of transportation to the island during the duration,” he said.
Senior U.S. Coast Guard Marine Inspector Charles Cobb said the vessel has several shortcomings. Earlier this year, he told the parish council more deckhands were needed and ferry captains who operate the ferry must be properly licensed.
“Either way, the parish council has a six-month window to get certified,” he said.
Cobb also suggested the council make the ferry service private, in light of the fact that 67 other boats nationwide are operating in that manner.
“I just don’t know where we kind find these kinds of funds to fix this,” St. Mary Parish Councilman Kevin Voisin said.
Avoca is a 16,000-acre, virtually uninhabited private island near Morgan City. Only one person – a caretaker – resides full-time on the island. The island serves as a site for a private hunting club. In addition, it is home to various oil and gas interests.
Since February of 1968, St. Mary Parish taxpayers have paid for the cable ferry, a practice now being scrutinized by the St. Mary Parish Council since the island is privately owned.
In December 2008, the parish council learned that since 2005, St. Mary taxpayers have paid roughly $705,836 to operate the ferry, which in the last quarter of 2008 carried roughly one or two vehicles in every two to three trips to the island.
“Am I reading these figures right?” Councilman Butch Middleton asked when the numbers were revealed.
Councilman Craig Matthews shared Middleton’s concern.
“With so many entities profiting from the island, what is the possibility of these entities sharing in the cost of the ferry?” Matthews asked.
Avoca Inc. has owned the island since 1931. The company is headquarters at the Whitney Bank building in New Orleans.
Since the 1930s, the company has shown no visible interest in economic development on the island, Morgan City Mayor Tim Matte said. Because of crowding issues in the city, the island is considered a potential development boon for the parish.
Paul Hogan III, general manager of Avoca Inc., expressed his support for continuing the ferry during a recent council meeting. He suggested cutting service hours or putting a toll on the ferry service to offset taxpayer costs.
“Avoca Inc. is the majority owner of the island, comprised of 300 shareholders from the East to the West Coast,” Hogan said. “I did not prepare a speech. However, I want to say that the ferry benefits many people.”
“I’m open to financially discussing something to keeping the ferry in operation,” told the Tri-Parish Times. “But I never offer money right away in a setting such as this.”
Paul Hogan III, general manager of Avoca Inc., which owns Avoca Island, suggested to the parish council that the service hours be reduced or a toll be placed on the ferry to reduce the parish’s operating cost. * Photo by HOWARD CASTAY
