Names boat one of 10 most significant for 2007

The Port of South Louisiana’s PSL Responder, its state-of-the-art security command boat, was honored by WorkBoat magazine as one of its ’10 Significant Boats of 2007′ during its 28th International Work Boat Show held in New Orleans.

WorkBoat magazine recognizes the 10 significant new boats of the year from the scores of boats highlighted in the pages of its magazine during the previous 12 months. The PSL Responder was the only security command boat among those honored that included a Hawaiian ferry, a Seattle Fire Dept. boat, numerous supply boats and others.

In its presentation on the PSL Responder, WorkBoat noted its high-tech, cutting-edge communications and surveillance equipment as well as the speed capacity of the vessel.

The magazine’s associate editor, Ken Hocke, wrote about the PSL Responder at length in the November 2007 issue after his first-hand experience riding on the vessel with its crew throughout the Port’s 54-mile district. Hocke referred to the boat as being a ‘multimission boat’ for its use as an on-scene command and control center during emergencies such as oil spills, search-and-rescue operations and security threats.

The PSL Responder was dedicated in August 2007 and has been used as part of the Port’s 24/7 security operations in its 54-mile district. It also supports the Coast Guard in its various marine safety/security missions within the 300-mile long Lower Mississippi River.

On hand for the presentation were Port of South Louisiana representatives Joel Chaisson, Executive Director and Mitch Smith, Director of Operations; John McClendon, President/CEO and KenMcFalls, Vice President of Sales, SeaArk Marine; and Steve Kuffman, President and Rick Tolivar, Chief Scientist of Teledyne Solutions, Inc.

The Port of South Louisiana, comprising St. Charles, St. John and St. James parishes on the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, is the largest tonnage port in the Western Hemisphere.