Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 21, 1993 TAG: 9303210064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
RIVER DREDGING DELAYED BY SUNKEN SHIP SEARCHES
Shipping lines and port officials say they are concerned about delayed dredging along the James River as officials search for the remains of sunken Civil War ships."If I don't get the dredging done, I either lose ships to other ports or the ships lose cargo," said Martin J. Moynihan, executive director of the Port of Richmond.
Officials say a long delay could cost the area millions of dollars in lost wages and economic activity.
The dispute concerns an application by the Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to perform maintenance dredging of the river bottom.
Historians, including those of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, objected to a Corps plan during a Virginia Marine Resources Commission meeting in January. The commission delayed action on the application until this Tuesday.
"It behooves us at least to find out what's there and study it as if it were a document," said John M. Coski, historian at the Museum of the Confederacy. "They contain information that might be useful for the historical record, if nothing else."
A Corps team spent several days recently looking for evidence of the ships.
Among the targets of the search were vessels of the Confederate fleet's James River Squadron, including three famous ironclads and as many as a dozen other ships, which guarded Richmond during the war. The ironclads are the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Virginia II.
As federal forces advanced on the city on April 3, 1865, the retreating Confederates torched the ships anchored southeast of Richmond.
Because the ships were built hurriedly and many of the records that contained details of their construction were destroyed, little is known about precise dimensions and outfitting of the ironclads, historians say.
But any wrecks in the shipping channel were removed during salvage activities shortly after the war or disturbed by previous dredging, said Ron Vann, chief of civil programs for the Corps' Norfolk District.
"This is one of the oldest projects we have in the district," Vann said. "And we're dredging in the same footprint that we have for more than 100 years."
Vann believes the Marine Resources Commission's decision this week is critical. If the dredging is further delayed, Vann might be forced to reapply for funding - a process that could take a year or more.
"There's a real possibility we might not be able to get the money," Vann said. "Without trying to overdramatize it, this is a very serious situation if we lose funds for the current fiscal year."
Carolyn Wake, a member of the Port of Richmond Commission, said a significant delay would "have a devastating effect on the port."
"We have got to have that river navigable for ships serving us now. If we don't, it's going to close us down," Wake said.
The port, whose major customers include local manufacturing giants Philip Morris USA and Du Pont Co., was responsible for more than 1,000 jobs in 1991, a recent study showed.
The jobs generated more than $21 million in wages, and the port generated about $2.1 million in taxes for local governments in 1991, according to the study.