Waterways in the Pittsburgh area support more than 76,000 jobs and generate $11.3 billion in gross state product
For James Long, steering large vessels on inland rivers across the United States is in his blood.
His father, Kenny Long, worked on boats hauling goods across the nation for decades. According to his family history, he’s at least the fourth generation to make a living traveling and shipping coal, chemical liquids, grains and other goods along America’s waterways.
“I don’t know anything else,” Mr. Long said as he steered a Campbell Transportation Company vessel east, just a few miles away from the meeting point of the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers on Wednesday.
Hundreds of trips are made across the area’s waterways and locks and dams every month, according to officials from Campbell Transportation, the Port of Pittsburgh Commission and the Waterways Council, a organization in Washington, D.C. that advocates for building and maintaining locks and dams throughout the United States.
Crew members on Wednesday took a group to the Emsworth Locks about six miles west of Pittsburgh on the Ohio River to show how the locks operate — the vessel dropped at least 10 to 12 feet in water depth while passing through. The vessel then turned around to head back toward Pittsburgh.
Mr. Long, of Pleasant Point, W.Va., has worked on cargo ships for 24 years, been a pilot of ships since 2006 and worked at Campbell Transportation for about four years. One of the job perks is working 21 days on a ship followed by 21 days off. He says that allows him to spend more extended time with his family.
The hardest part of his job? The weather, he said.
“The truth is, Mother Nature is going to win at some point in your career. It’s inevitable, ” Mr. Long said. “But the difference between an experienced pilot and a [novice pilot], is that an experienced pilot will see it most of the time, before it happens, and lessen the damage. But if you’re out here any length of time in your career, Mother Nature is going to win.”
According to the Port of Pittsburgh Commission—which covers Southwest Pennsylvania and includes 17 locks and dam systems—nearly 76,500 jobs are supported by the Pittsburgh Port District. It generates $5.5 billion in personal income and $11.3 billion in gross state product, according to data from 2018.
Birbie Queen, a senior deckhand, said he has been working on ships since 1996. He enjoys seeing all of the different scenery and communities throughout the country and meeting different people.
Mr. Queen said a typical workday consists of building tows, sweeping barges, and keeping the boat clean. He manages about six to eight people on the boat, takes care of the engine room, and helps get barges through the various locks in the Pittsburgh region and beyond.
Sometimes, the crew has to take barges through one at a time-—which is tough work, he said. A 1,500-ton barge can hold 15 jumbo hopper rail cars or up to 58 large semi-trucks. A boat can haul 15 barges, or 225 railroad cars or 870 trucks, according to data provided by the Port of Pittsburgh Commission.
Mr. Queen works 20 days on a boat, and then has 10 days off. He loves all the aspects of the job but said he misses his wife and 19-year-old daughter.
Dan Boyd, the local port captain for Campbell Transportation, said that workers like he, Mr. Queen and others typically know whether or not they can make a career out of working on cargo ships. He’s heard stories of people who worked on ships for a single day, and find themselves back on land the next.
“I knew the first year I was here, [that] working outdoors was my thing,” Mr. Boyd said.
Article Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steve Bohnel
Article Link: https://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2023/08/09/pittsburgh-rivers-locks-dams-waterways-barges/stories/202308090125