High water on the Mississippi River could increase expenses for a planned petcoke cargo in June, a source said Wednesday.
Multiple dredges are still working at the Southwest Pass near New Orleans, where the river crested at 16.4 feet Monday, 6 inches below flood stage.
"The channel is deteriorating quickly and additional restrictions could indeed be necessary before the channel is recovered," a shipping source said.
Draft restrictions were put in place for vessels at 44 feet after the river exceeded 14 feet at the Carrollton gauge. The river is not expected to get to 14 feet at the gauge in the Southwest Pass until at least June 22, according to data from the US Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District. "A slow fall is forecast," a shipping operator said.
The 70,000 mt cargo, which will head to India from a Midwest refinery, had been sold cheaper due to the larger vessel size. The extra size would force the shipper to reduce the petcoke volume loaded on the vessel.
"If we had to ship today, we'd have to pay some dead tons," the source said. "It's going to take a few weeks for the river gauge to get to 14 feet."
