Re “Anchorages would protect the Hudson,” June 14 letter:

The writer recommends that the public should “follow the facts.” He should do the same.

He states that industry seeks anchorage designations “so the U.S Coast Guard can properly manage the vessels anchoring there.” Any commercial vessel operator who experiences circumstances that make it unsafe to proceed (weather, mechanical failure, etc.) simply has to contact the Coast Guard. Permission to anchor is always granted to vessels in distress.

He states that more official anchorages would minimize train and truck transport. That is incorrect. As independent businesses, rail and barge industries will move as much oil as they have capacity to carry, so long as the market supports the volume.

He states that vessels are limited to 48 hours at any location. While that may be true in New York Harbor, it is not the case farther north. And 42 of the 43 new anchorage sites would allow “long term” use.

If, as the writer states, the tug and barge industry is concerned that the Champlain Hudson Power Express cable will preclude anchoring, why wasn’t this mentioned in the request to the Coast Guard? The Maritime Association of the Port of NY/NJ pointed only to the export trade “of American Bakken crude oil and ethanol.”  Read more.